GAZA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Two Hamas security officials were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip, local authorities said.

In a statement, the authorities said the strike hit a vehicle in the city of Deir al-Balah, identifying the deceased as Wael al-Ladawi, 44, the internal security service chief of central Gaza under Hamas-run interior authorities, and Major Ramez Abu Zureiq, 49.

Local sources and eyewitnesses said that an Israeli drone fired three missiles at the vehicle.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that its crews evacuated seven people wounded in the strike.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

The strike came a day after Abdul Nasser al-Maqadma, the police chief of northern Gaza under Hamas-run interior authorities, was killed in an Israeli airstrike northwest of Gaza City.

Gaza's health authorities said in their daily report on Sunday that nine bodies and 36 injured people had been admitted to hospitals across the enclave over the past 24 hours.

The authorities said Israeli attacks have killed 1,200 people since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect in October 2025, bringing the total death toll in the enclave since Oct. 7, 2023, to 73,326. ■