Cairo:
Two aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, and Israel took part in Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing an operative employed by a US-based charity. announced that he had been killed.
The first, a member of World Central Kitchen, was hit by a car in Khan Yunis, south of Gaza. The Israeli military has said he participated in the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel and was under surveillance, but provided no evidence.
Reuters could not independently confirm whether he took part in last year's attack.
The man's family, Ahed Azmi Khudei, said the Israeli claims were false and intended to justify his unlawful killing. They said he was an engineer who dedicated his life to philanthropy.
World Central Kitchen confirmed the airstrike but said it had no knowledge of any employee involvement in the October 7, 2023 airstrike.
“We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying colleagues from World Central Kitchen was hit by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement published in X. Hamas attack on October 7th. ”
The charity said it had suspended its operations in Gaza, adding that it was working with incomplete information and was urgently seeking further details. Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported that three charity workers were killed in the strike, and doctors said a total of five people had died.
Hamas had no immediate comment.
Later that day, international aid agency Save the Children also announced in a statement that a 39-year-old employee, identified as Ahmad Faisal Islam al-Qadi, was killed in the airstrike in Khan Yunis.
It is unclear whether the two men were killed in the same airstrike. Israel did not immediately comment on Save the Children's statement.
Inger Assing, president of Save the Children, said: “There are no words strong enough to express our sadness and outrage at the loss of Ahmad in an Israeli airstrike. He was a valuable member of our team. He was a member and was loved by everyone he met.” said the executive in a statement.
In another attack in Khan Yunis, at least nine Palestinians were killed when a car near a crowd receiving flour was hit by an Israeli airstrike, medics said. The vehicle was being used by security personnel tasked with overseeing the delivery of aid to Gaza.
The Israeli military says it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of operating from civilian facilities and using Gaza residents as human shields, a charge the organization denies.
At least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the enclave overnight and into Saturday, including seven killed in an attack on a house in central Gaza City, Gaza officials said. Gaza health officials said this included:
New ceasefire efforts
Meanwhile, two senior Hamas officials told Reuters that Hamas leaders were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, days after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon. said.
The visit will be the first since the United States announced earlier this week that it would resume efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, working with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian security officials to find a way to reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel that would secure the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
A series of intermittent talks over several months have made limited progress so far.
Hamas is seeking a deal to end the war, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will only end if Hamas is eradicated.
Israeli military operations in Gaza have left at least 44,382 people dead and nearly the entire population of the enclave displaced at least once, Gaza officials say. Vast areas of Gaza are in ruins.
The conflict began more than 13 months ago, when Hamas-led operatives attacked communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 hostages, Israeli officials said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
