Israel’s targeting of Gaza police and security forces aggravates chaos, undermines civilian protection
Aftermath of Israeli strike on the Gaza City police station in which 9 people were killed on 19 August 2026
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights press release issued on 20 August 2026:
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) strike on the Municipal Police headquarters yesterday afternoon in Gaza City. The strike killed eight police officers, including two female officers, as well as a girl who was playing in a nearby park, and injured 18 others. The attack came only a few hours after the arrest of a police officer and a security officer in the southern Gaza Strip.
This attack forms part of a systematic and recurring pattern of IOF targeting of police and security personnel responsible for maintaining public order in the Gaza Strip. It is also part of an escalating policy aimed at undermining what remains of the internal security system and creating a security vacuum that deepens the state of chaos and leaves civilians without protection, alongside the ongoing targeting of civilians, displacement tents, markets, and civilian gatherings across the Gaza Strip.
According to information collected by PCHR’s field researchers, at approximately 14:25 on Wednesday, 19 August 2026, an Israeli drone fired at least one missile at a room temporarily used as the Municipal Police headquarters in central Gaza City. The strike killed eight police personnel and a girl who happened to be in the Municipal Park at the time, while 18 others sustained injuries of varying degrees, several of them critical. The injured were transferred to the field hospital run by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in al-Saraya area, while others were taken to al-Shifa Medical Complex for treatment.