Gaza City - The over 1,400 Palestinians killed in three weeks of Israeli air and ground attacks include 230 members of Hamas' police force in Gaza, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Police Chief Tawfiq Jabber was among the dead, the spokesman, Islam Shahwan, told a news conference in Gaza City.

Despite the war, the police forces had not stopped their activities and were helping civilians whose homes were destroyed and were evacuating casualties to hospital, he said.

Shahwan urged all policemen to get back to work, wearing their blue uniforms, charging "Israel had aimed to create a status of chaos in the Gaza Strip by striking the police headquarters."

In addition to its security forces, Hamas has a semi-official army in the shape of its military wing, the Qassam Brigades.

The Brigades' spokesman, Abu Obeida, claimed Monday that only 48 of its fighters were among the dead, while its gunmen killed 80 Israeli soldiers.

Israel has officially confirmed that nine Israeli soldiers were killed in ground fighting in Gaza and one other by a Palestinian rocket, making the total toll among Israel's troops 10.

Israel in turn claims its soldiers killed some 500 Hamas fighters.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry says that around 40 per cent of the total 1,415 dead were women and minors, making just over 500 adult male deaths. Of the men, it remains impossible to verify independently how many of were fighters and how many were civilians.

Other armed factions active in Gaza, including the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, have also not published the number of their gunmen killed. (dpa)