An Israeli airstrike on a group of men in Gaza City on Sunday killed four Palestinian policemen , in the latest deadly breach of the ceasefire which has technically been in place since October 2025.
Medical sources at al-Shifa Hospital said an Israeli drone fired two missiles at a group of people on Yafa Street in the al-Daraj neighbourhood in central Gaza City, killing four policemen and wounding five others.
The sources added that the victims were taken to the hospital shortly after the strike.
"Four martyrs and five wounded arrived at the hospital after being targeted by two missiles fired by an Israeli drone at a group of civilians on Yafa Street," one source told The New Arab. Local sources later identified those killed as Ahmed Abu Shawish, Mohammed al-Suweirki, Ramzi al-Shawa and Mustafa al-Sakani.
The attack comes despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect on 10 October 2025, following two years of a devastating Israeli genocidal of the coastal enclave.
Gaza's Health Ministry said in a brief statement that at least 715 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce began, highlighting the fragility of the arrangement. Families mourn as police continue work despite Israeli threat At the family home of Ramzi al-Shawa in Gaza City, relatives gathered to mourn as neighbours offered condolences.
A relative, who asked not to be named, told The New Arab that al-Shawa had worked for years in a security force responsible for monitoring conditions in neighbourhoods devastated by the war.
"He used to leave the house every morning with his colleagues to check the streets and help organise traffic in some of the areas that were badly damaged," the relative said.
According to the family, news of al-Shawa's death reached them shortly after the explosion.
"We heard the strike first, then people started calling us. Shortly after that, we knew he was among those targeted," the relative added.
Security officials in Gaza said that despite repeated Israeli strikes, the Gaza security forces has continued to operate in order to maintain a minimum level of order in the enclave, where much of the administrative infrastructure was destroyed during the war.
A security officer who requested anonymity told TNA that "the forces are trying to restore basic services and prevent chaos in neighbourhoods struggling with widespread destruction."
"The security forces are trying to fulfil their duty to maintain public order despite the risks […] Many government headquarters and institutions were destroyed during the war, but people still need some form of organisation in daily life," he said.
He added that "the main tasks currently carried out by security personnel include monitoring conditions in residential areas, regulating traffic, preventing looting and protecting some key facilities."
"Despite the targeting and the dangers, we continue working because the situation in Gaza requires the presence of institutions that can regulate daily life," he added.
The Israeli war on Gaza has left the territory in ruins. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel's military campaign in October 2023, with tens of thousands more injured.
Large parts of the coastal enclave's infrastructure have been destroyed, including residential buildings, hospitals, schools and public institutions. Most of Gaza's population has also been displaced at various stages of the war.
International organisations have repeatedly warned that the territory is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with widespread hunger and severe shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies due to Israel's ongoing blockade and restrictions on aid entry. Questions about ceasefire durability Against this backdrop, Palestinian political analyst Akram Attallah said that the continued Israeli strikes during the ceasefire raise questions about the nature and durability of the truce.
"Israel has repeatedly targeted individuals it considers linked to Hamas's military or security structure, even during periods of relative calm," he told TNA .
"Israel sometimes carries out strikes against people it believes are connected to Hamas's security or organisational apparatus, even when a ceasefire agreement is technically in place," he added.
According to Atallah, such attacks may also be linked to broader political calculations tied to ongoing negotiations over Gaza's future governance and security arrangements.
"These operations cannot be separated from the political context surrounding the negotiations," he said.
"Israel may be trying to maintain pressure on Hamas while discussions continue about what the post-war reality in Gaza will look like," he explained.
At the same time, Atallah believes that rising regional tensions have shifted international attention away from Gaza.
In recent weeks, the US-Israel war on Iran has dominated global headlines, reducing the level of scrutiny on developments in the Palestinian enclave.
"The international focus has increasingly shifted toward the broader regional confrontation," Atallah said. "As a result, daily developments in Gaza are receiving less attention compared with earlier stages of the war."