In the heart of Gaza City, Palestinian police officers attempting to protect what little remains of civilian order were killed on Friday evening when Israeli airstrikes struck them while they confronted looting gangs targeting humanitarian warehouses and commercial shops.

Local sources say the police had successfully intervened to stop an armed robbery near Al-Thawra Street, only to become targets themselves. Israeli warplanes struck the officers just moments after they dispersed the gang. A second and third round of airstrikes followed, including one on Al-Wehda Street, further compounding the tragedy.

Among those killed were officer Asaad Yahya Ayoub Al-Kafarna and a child, Saadi Mohammed Saadi Abu Odeh, whose presence at the scene remains unclear but no less heartbreaking.

Rami Abdu, head of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, confirmed that a coalition of local police and community-based security groups had been enforcing a curfew to prevent the escalating looting driven by Gaza’s deepening humanitarian collapse. These groups, formed from local factions and families, had been working to maintain some semblance of safety amid the chaos.

Their efforts were met not with support, but with lethal force from above—yet another reminder that in Gaza, even those working to restore order are not spared.