He did not name them but said security forces "continue to investigate who is behind them". Witnesses told AFP that both bombings were carried out by assailants on motorbikes. A source familiar with the investigation said a Salafist movement in Gaza that sympathises with the Islamic State jihadist group was suspected.
The interior ministry said two of the police officers were 32 and the third was 45. Hamas's military wing hailed them as members. New police checkpoints were set up in Gaza City as authorities investigated the attacks. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya sought to calm fears of unrest in the enclave of two million people. "We assure our people that whatever these explosions are, they will be brought under control as with every previous event, and will not be able to undermine the stability and steadfastness of our people," he said in a statement.
Hundreds gathered for funerals for the three police officers. Suicide bombings are rare in the Gaza Strip. In August 2017, a suicide bomber killed a Hamas guard in southern Gaza on the border with Egypt. Hamas has run the Gaza Strip since 2007 but has been regularly criticised by more radical Salafist groups in the impoverished, Israeli-blockaded coastal territory. The Israeli military said it had not carried out any air raids at the time of the latest bombings. The bombings come at a sensitive time.