Aid group says several killed in Israeli attack on Gaza hospital convoy

The strike killed several people employed by a transportation company that the aid group was using to bring supplies to the Emirates Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah, Sandra Rasheed, Anera’s director for the Palestinian territory, stated on Friday.

The strike happened Thursday on Salah al-Din Street in the Gaza Strip and hit the convoy’s first vehicle.

“The convoy, which was coordinated by Anera and approved by Israeli authorities, included an Anera employee who was fortunately unharmed,” Rasheed said in a statement cited by The Associated Press news agency.

“Despite this devastating incident, our understanding is that the remaining vehicles in the convoy were able to continue and successfully deliver the aid to the hospital. We are urgently seeking further details about what happened.”

In a later statement, Anera said four Palestinians were killed in the strike.

It identified the dead as “four community members with experience in previous missions and engagement in community security”.

They “stepped forward and requested to take command of the leading vehicle, citing concern that the route was unsafe and at risk of being looted”, the Anera statement read.

“The four community members were neither vetted nor coordinated in advance, and Israeli authorities allege that the lead car was carrying numerous weapons. The Israeli air strike was carried out without any prior warning or communication,” it added.

Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on other aid convoys in the Gaza Strip.

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced a pause in the movement of its employees in the Gaza Strip “until further notice” after one of its vehicles was hit by gunfire just metres from an Israeli-controlled checkpoint.

The incident took place on Tuesday night as the vehicle was approaching the Wadi Gaza Bridge checkpoint.

“None of the employees onboard were physically harmed,” the WFP said in a statement.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, blamed Israel for the attack, telling reporters in New York that the “clearly marked” humanitarian vehicle was “struck 10 times” by Israeli gunfire, including with bullets targeting front windows.

Five of the bullets were on the driver’s side and some on the windscreen.

The team was returning from a mission to Karem Abu Salem, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, with two WFP armoured vehicles after escorting a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian cargo on the way to Gaza’s central area.

Dujarric stated the convoy’s movements had been coordinated with the Israeli military and it had clearance to approach.

“This is the latest incident to underscore that systems in place for coordination are not working,” he continued, adding that “we will continue to work with the [Israeli military] to ensure that incidents like that do not happen again”.

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain described the attack as “unacceptable” and said it was “the latest in a series of unnecessary incidents that have endangered the lives” of her team members in Gaza.

“As last night’s events show, the current deconfliction system is failing and this cannot go on any longer,” she added.

In late July, UNICEF announced two of its vehicles were hit with live ammunition while waiting at a designated holding point. An Israeli attack in April hit three World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven people.

According to the UN, more than 280 aid workers have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since October 7.