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Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip continued operating during the war and are now redeploying more broadly under a ceasefire, their spokesperson, Col. Mohammed al-Zarqa, of the Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, said.
Zarqa said in his first media statement since the war on Gaza began to Al Jazeera that the force "has not stopped carrying out its duty since the first day of the war, and has not left the field for a single moment," despite direct targeting of its headquarters, personnel and capabilities.
"The Palestinian police continued to operate alongside the Palestinian people throughout the war, providing whatever police and humanitarian services it could," he affirmed.
He noted that the nature of the work and the methods used changed in response to conditions on the ground, which at times forced police officers not to wear their uniforms or remain at official premises after Israel deliberately targeted them.
He said they operated from alternative locations closer to residents and continued to provide services at a minimum level, within the limits of available resources under harsh conditions.
With the ceasefire now in effect, the Palestinian police have begun operating more broadly and have redeployed across all governorates of the Gaza Strip, with officers again wearing the available police uniforms, according to the force's spokesperson.
He said Israeli forces destroyed 20 police stations across the Gaza Strip's governorates over the past two years, forcing the force to operate from alternative premises amid a near-total lack of resources after its capabilities were destroyed during the war.
Zarqa said the police’s various departments continue to carry out their duties, particularly those directly linked to residents’ day-to-day lives.
He said the departments include the Rapid Response Department, general investigations, traffic, narcotics control, security and guarding, supply and consumer-protection investigations, and technical and forensic units, among other divisions, all operating within the framework of emergency committees.
Zarqa said the police and the public prosecution are currently working side by side, with prosecutors operating from within police stations to follow up on cases and keep them moving until conditions allow the judiciary to fully resume its work.
He added that police bodies have reinstated detention procedures and the referral of suspects for trial across the Gaza Strip's governorates.
Zarqa stressed that the police is a purely civilian institution under international definitions and conventions, is not affiliated with any political body, and performs a professional and humanitarian role, serving residents, maintaining security, and protecting lives and property in the Gaza Strip, despite the war and continued targeting.
In this context, Ismail al-Thawabteh, director general of Gaza's Government Media Office, said the police force had been among Israel's primary targets since the start of the war, "in an attempt to undermine the home front and create a state of chaos inside the Gaza Strip."
Thawabteh told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces targeted the police force's "symbols and leadership" to disrupt its operations, "but it was able to overcome these attacks by finding alternatives, filling vacancies, and continuing to work to the extent possible."
He said Israel destroyed the pillars of police work, starting with the targeting of commanders and personnel and extending to the destruction of headquarters and police vehicles, the targeting of the forensic laboratory, and the loss of essential tools, communications equipment and transport, stressing that the police today are operating "by will, not by resources," which have become nearly nonexistent.
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