Gaza: Israeli strike on NGO aid team condemned as humanitarians renew access call.
| Published date | 02 April 2024 |
M2 PRESSWIRE-April 2, 2024-: Gaza: Israeli strike on NGO aid team condemned as humanitarians renew access call
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The killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen in Israeli military airstrikes in central Gaza has been strongly condemned by senior UN humanitarian officials who on Tuesday reiterated repeated concerns that "there is no safe space left in Gaza".
"This is not an isolated incident," said Jamie McGoldrick, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). "As of 20 March, at least 196 humanitarians had been killed in the OPT since October 2023. This is nearly three times the death toll recorded in any single conflict in a year."
Mr. McGoldrick repeated appeals to "all parties to the conflict, including the Government of Israel", to respect international humanitarian law, which prohibits the targeting of humanitarian personnel.
"The role of aid workers is to alleviate the suffering of people in crisis. Their safety, along with that of the civilians they serve, must be guaranteed," he said.
The senior UN official's comments came after World Central Kitchen reported that an Israeli airstrike was responsible for the deaths of its aid workers in Deir Al-Balah. Following those reports and images of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) vehicle showing a large hole in its roof, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths expressed his outrage at the attack and described the victims are "heroes, killed while trying to feed starving people".
From the UN World Health Organization (WHO), spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris maintained that the NGO mission had been agreed with the Israeli authorities ahead of time and that the organisation's car was "well marked, it was very clear: it was World Central Kitchen".
"How many more lives will be lost until there is a ceasefire?", said UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a tweet. He said WHO was outraged by the killing of humanitarian workers, and safety must be a basic requirement for all who do relief work.
The key UN agency providing relief to Palestinians, UNRWA, tweeted that it was devastated by the killing of seven humanitarians, pointing out that 176 of its own workers have been killed since the violence erupted on 7 October
In a video statement released on Tuesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killing of the aid workers by an Israeli strike was unintended and tragic.
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