War on Gaza: Aid workers killed in Israeli strike on humanitarian convoy
An Israeli air strike has hit a humanitarian aid convoy laden with medical supplies and fuel for an Emirati-run hospital in Rafah, killing several workers.
Israeli forces claimed the attack targeted “armed assailants” who were attempting to hijack the convoy, which was organised by the US charity, Anera.
But Anera said that several employees of the transportation company it had worked with had been killed in the attack.
All the fatalities were in the vehicle leading the convoy, which was the target of the attack.
According to unconfirmed reports, five people were killed in the strike.
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Anera reported that the convoy had been approved by Israeli authorities.
In a statement Israeli forces confirmed the authorisation but claimed in a statement that “during the convoy’s movement, a number of armed assailants seized control of the vehicle in the front of the convoy (a Jeep) and began to lead it.”
The military further claimed that it had contacted Anera following the attack, and that the organisation had confirmed that “all of the convoy’s organisation members and humanitarian aid were safe and reached their destination as planned”.
Anera confirmed that the convoy had reached the hospital, and that only one of its employees had been travelling as part of it. The NGO added that they were unharmed in the attack.
“We are urgently seeking further details about what happened,” Anera’s Palestine country director, Sandra Rasheed said.
The air strike shortly follows another attack by Israeli forces on a convoy of two clearly marked World Food Programme trucks, prompting the UN to announce it was suspending its activities in Gaza.
"Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving towards an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) checkpoint. It sustained at least ten bullets: five on the driver’s side, two on the passenger side and three on other parts of the vehicle," the WFP said in a statement.
In April, a deadly Israeli air strike targeted a World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid convoy killing seven aid workers.
Middle East Eye reported in April that at least 357 humanitarian-run sites and convoys in Gaza whose coordinates had been shared in advance with warring parties were hit before the WCK attack.
UN officials and aid workers told MEE it had been clear for months that the humanitarian notification system in Gaza was broken.
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