An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed a senior officer of the Hamas-run Palestinian internal security service in the Gaza Strip and an associate as they travelled in a vehicle through Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, medics and police officials said.
The strike killed Colonel Wael El-Ledawi, head of the service in central Gaza, and Major Ramez Abu Zraiq, medics and the Hamas-run interior ministry said.
The Israeli occupation forces said they had carried out a strike against a Hamas fighter, without further details.
Israel has killed dozens of members of the Hamas-led police force, including senior officials, in the past months, accusing many of them of being members of the Hamas armed wing who posed imminent threats to Israel and its forces inside Gaza.
Hamas says Israeli attacks on the police force and its headquarters are intended to sow chaos and anarchy in the enclave and violate the US-brokered October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The latest deaths add to a toll of more than 1,190 Palestinians, mostly civilians, killed by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza health officials.
