Israeli air strikes killed at least nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza City on Wednesday, in the latest escalation as mediators push to advance the fragile ceasefire, Middle East Eye reported.

Gaza’s Police Department said Israeli fighter jets dropped several bombs on the Gaza Governorate Municipalities Police Headquarters.

Paramedics said at least nine people were killed and 15 others wounded.

Local media reported that several senior police officers were among those killed, including Colonel Faten al-Sahhar, the head of the Women's Police Department. 

The police officials described the attack as a “brutal massacre”. Gaza’s Ministry of Interior said Israel was seeking to spread chaos in the territory by targeting the police force.

A separate Israeli air strike in central Gaza on Wednesday killed another Palestinian.

The latest killings came a day after an Israeli air strike hit a cafe in Gaza City, killing at least seven people, including a child.

Tuesday’s strike was the deadliest single attack in Gaza in weeks.

Hamas condemned the attack as a “war crime”, saying its timing confirmed Israel’s intention to undermine mediators’ efforts to advance the Gaza ceasefire.

The Israeli military claimed it targeted “Hamas operatives” who were planning attacks on Israeli troops but provided no evidence to support the claim. The military routinely uses similar allegations to justify attacks in Gaza.

The escalation comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US special envoy Jared Kushner earlier this week to discuss efforts to advance the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

After the meeting, Kushner gave Israel the green light to “finish the job” against Hamas if it refused to disarm.

Before travelling to Israel, Kushner, whose family has longstanding ties to Netanyahu, visited Egypt, where he met Hamas leaders as part of efforts to advance the talks.

Hamas said last month that it had agreed to a US-led plan to gradually disarm and implement the ceasefire agreement signed in October, in exchange for a complete halt to Israeli strikes and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. 

Israel rejected the proposal.

Hazem Qasem, a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, said the US-led so-called “Peace Council” bore responsibility for the latest escalation, accusing it of failing to “fulfil its responsibilities by pressuring the occupation and compelling it to abide by what was agreed”.

“The Peace Council now faces a real test of its ability and seriousness in managing mediation and negotiations,” Qasem said.

He also accused “officials” from the US-led body of making “contradictory statements” that “give the occupation cover to escalate its aggression”.

In an interview with Fox News after meeting Netanyahu, Kushner said the US would not allow reconstruction in Gaza until Hamas gives up its weapons.

“We’re also not going to restrict Israel’s right to defend itself if there are any imminent threats,” Kushner said.

The October ceasefire was intended to end Israel’s two-year genocide on Gaza, during which Israeli forces killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and destroyed around 90 percent of homes across the territory.

Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, with near-daily air strikes and a continuing siege on Gaza.

Since the ceasefire was signed, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including at least 300 children.