Gaza police back on the beat amid Israeli attacks
Wearing civilian garb to avoid detection by warplanes, the officers are busy arresting merchants suspected of price gouging during the crisis.
Reporting from Jerusalem Reporting Gaza City — Gaza City police have redeployed in force, as Hamas works to maintain law and order in the Gaza Strip amid a prolonged Israeli air assault that has leveled dozens of police stations and left nearly 400 people dead.
But many officers on patrol are now wearing civilian clothing and carrying sticks rather than guns to avoid being targeted by Israeli warplanes.
"We are trying to cope with the situation," said Officer Abu Ahmed, 47. "It's not easy to work under the current situation, but we have no other option but to keep working."
In addition to maintaining the peace among an increasingly desperate, heavily armed population, police are arresting merchants suspected of price gouging -- all while keeping a vigilant eye on the skies.
Officer Mohammed Abo Hwaishel shivered against the winter rain Wednesday. He was told not to light a fire for fear of drawing the Israelis' attention.
"We are used to this. We have to keep our people's lives safe," the 30-year-old policeman said. And besides, he added, "the streets are safer than the buildings nowadays."
Nearly half the Palestinians killed since the Israeli attacks began Saturday have been police, according to police spokesman Islam Shahwan, who said most of the 180 dead officers perished in the initial strike.
"All of our security compounds in the Gaza Strip were destroyed or seriously damaged," Shahwan said.
Hamas, the militant group that has controlled Gaza since mid-2007, has an estimated 20,000-strong security force composed of police; Protection and Security, a unit similar to the U.S. Secret Service; and Internal Security, an intelligence and interrogation squad with a rising reputation for brutality.
Many security force members moonlight with the Izzidin al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas' military wing, which continues to launch dozens of rockets and mortar shells each day at southern Israeli towns.
Israel began its aerial assault after Palestinian militants in Gaza resumed the rocket and mortar attacks when a six-month cease-fire ended last month.
The casualty figures haven't made a huge dent in Hamas' security force. But the Israeli attacks have disrupted communications, gutted most security facilities and left senior command officials dead.
Now the police are back in force with a mandate to prevent looting and crack down on profiteering.
