Israel Kills Hamas Police Chiefs in Gaza and West Bank Raids

The Israel Defense Forces intensified a campaign of targeted killings against Hamas security and police officials in the Gaza Strip over the weekend of July 25-26, 2026. These strikes killed Brigadier-General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma, the head of the police force and governor of northern Gaza, in the Sheikh Radwan area, as well as Colonel Wael Al-Ladawi, director of the Internal Security Service in central Gaza, and Major Ramez Abu Zureiq in Deir al-Balah.

Other strikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp and Khan Younis killed a medic and a high school student. The Gaza Interior Ministry accused Israel of targeting the foundations of police work to sow chaos. These escalations occur despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 11, 2025. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that approximately 1,202 Palestinians have been killed since that agreement, with the total death toll since October 7, 2023, reaching 73,326.

Simultaneously, Israeli forces conducted large-scale military raids in the West Bank following a directive from Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Katz. In the town of Tell, over 40 men were abducted and four killed, while another 40 Palestinians were detained during a raid in Nablus. Mohammed Al-Yamahi, Speaker of the Arab Parliament, condemned concurrent attacks by settler militias in Farata and other villages, characterizing them as war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mediators from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey have reported little progress in advancing a peace plan that requires Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawals.