Four foreigners have been killed in an Israeli military attack in central Gaza, according to health authorities in the occupied territory.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office reported the death toll late Monday.
The foreign aid workers are reportedly from Poland, Britain and Australia. The nationality of the fourth aid worker is not known at this time. A Palestinian interpreter was also reportedly killed.
Local officials said the group was working at the World Central Kitchen when the convoy it was traveling in was attacked south of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
The footage showed the bodies of five people who died at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah. Some of them were wearing protective gear emblazoned with the charity’s logo. Hospital staff showed the passports of three of the dead: a British national, an Australian national and a Polish national.
The source of the fire could not be independently confirmed.
World Central Kitchen said in an online statement: “We are aware of reports that a World Central Kitchen team member was killed in an Israeli Defense Force attack while working to support humanitarian food delivery operations in Gaza.
“This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be targeted.”
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichai Adlai said in a statement:
“Following today’s reports regarding the World’s Central Kitchen personnel in Gaza, the IDF is conducting a thorough investigation at the highest level to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.
“IDF has undertaken extensive efforts to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies and is working closely with WCK in critical efforts to provide food and humanitarian supplies to the people of Gaza,” the statement said. .
Medical officials said the group was helping deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza, which arrived hours earlier by boat.
Mahmoud Thabet, a paramedic with the Palestine Red Crescent Society who was part of the team that took the bodies to the hospital, told The Associated Press that the aid worker’s vehicle was hit shortly after crossing from northern Gaza.
The aid ship, which arrived on Monday, carried around 400 tonnes of food and supplies in a shipment organized by the United Arab Emirates and World Central Kitchen. Last month, a ship delivered 200 tons of aid in a trial run. The Israeli military was involved in coordinating both deliveries.
The United States has promoted the sea route as a new way to bring desperately needed aid to northern Gaza, where Palestinians face imminent starvation and are largely cut off from the rest of the territory by Israeli forces. Israel has banned deliveries to the north by Unruwa, the main U.N. agency in the Gaza Strip, and other aid groups say it is too dangerous to send truck convoys north because the military is unable to ensure safe passage. claims.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was “urgently” investigating reports of the killing of an Australian.
“I am very concerned about the loss of life that is occurring in Gaza. My government has supported a sustainable ceasefire,” he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
“We have called for the release of the hostages, but too many innocent lives have been lost in the Gaza-Hamas conflict, including Palestinians and Israelis.”
