At least nine people have lost their lives and another 15 have been injured after a bombing carried out this Wednesday by Israeli forces against a police station located in the city of Gaza. According to the Israeli authorities themselves, the operation was aimed at positions of "terrorist armed groups" in the Palestinian enclave.
The Ministry of the Interior, under the control of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), has accused Israel of trying to "sow chaos in the Strip" by attacking "police targets" in the area, while the Israeli Army claims that the offensive has "reached terrorist objectives."
Informed sources have indicated that the lifeless bodies of nine people have been transferred to a nearby hospital and have specified that the 15 injured are in critical condition, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Hamas denounces a "new war crime"
On the other hand, Hamas has described the attack on the police station as a "new war crime" that shows the determination of the Israeli government to "renounce its obligations and refuse to move forward with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and complete its stages."
The Islamist movement emphasizes that the timing of the bombing, following contacts with the United States to implement the second phase of the peace plan for Gaza, evidences that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is deliberately undermining those efforts and promoting a new war in the Gaza Strip instead of fulfilling what was agreed," according to the newspaper "Filastin."
"Attacking the civil police and the institutions that maintain security and public order reveals the efforts of the occupation to create a state of chaos and a collapse of security in the Gaza Strip, and to undermine the foundations of life and stability, in order to serve the plans of displacement," Hamas has added, calling on the mediators of the agreement to act firmly so that Israel respects what was agreed.
In this same vein, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem has assured that this massacre represents a "dangerous escalation and total contempt" for calls for a ceasefire, blaming the Peace Board for the deterioration of the situation, considering that it has not fulfilled its role in guaranteeing the agreements.
According to Qasem, the Board faces a "real test" to demonstrate its capability and seriousness in conducting mediation and negotiation efforts.