GAZA: The United Nations has said that an international staffer was killed and five others injured in a strike in the Gaza Strip.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said the explosive ordnance was “dropped or fired” and the blast was not accidental or related to the demining activity.
“This was not an accident,” he said. “I’m shocked and devastated by this tragic news,” he said.
The strike comes as Israel launched its most intense bombardment of Gaza since a January 19 ceasefire.
UNOPS operates a system that tracks aid trucks into Gaza, conducts demining efforts, and helps deliver fuel. The organisation did not disclose the nationalities of those killed and injured.
The Israeli military, which has conducted extensive airstrikes since early Tuesday, denied earlier reports claiming it targeted the UN compound.
However, Moreira da Silva stated that strikes hit near the compound on Monday, directly struck it on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, when the staff member was killed.
He mentioned that the agency had reached out to the Israeli military following the first strike and received confirmation that the military was aware of the facility’s location.
“Israel knew this was a UN premise, that people were living, staying, and working there,” he said.
The strike came a day after Israel conducted a wave of heavy strikes that killed over 400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The strikes, the most intense since the truce began on 19 January, targeted areas across northern, central, and southern Gaza, including Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the wave of strikes Tuesday was “only the beginning” and that Israel would press ahead until it achieves all of its war aims destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the group since October 7, 2023.
Gaza death toll tops 49,500
The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023 has surged to 49,547 people, the Health Ministry has said.
A ministry statement said that the toll increased after 436 Palestinians were killed in renewed Israeli attacks on the enclave since Tuesday.
The ministry said 678 people were also wounded, taking the number of injuries since October 2023 to 112,719.
