Two aid workers were killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Saturday, Israel said it has killed a worker who took part in Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and whom it said was Was appointed by a US based charity.
The first was a member of the World Central Kitchen who was hit by a vehicle in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. The Israeli military said he had taken part 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 the attack last year.
The family of the man, Ahad Azmi Kadieh, said the Israeli allegations were false and intended to justify his unlawful killing. He said that he was an engineer who dedicated his life to charitable works.
World Central Kitchen confirmed the airstrike and said it had no knowledge of any employees involved in the October 7, 2023 attack.
“We are saddened to report that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen associates was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza,” it said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Hamas attack on October 7.”
The charity group said it was suspending operations in Gaza, adding that it was working with incomplete information and urgently sought more details. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that three charity workers were killed in the strike, with doctors saying a total of five people were killed.
Hamas did not immediately comment.
Later in the day, international aid agency Save the Children also said in a statement that a 39-year-old staffer, identified as Ahmed Faisal Islam al-Qadi, was killed in an airstrike in Khan Yunis.
It is unclear whether both men were killed in the same attack. Israel had no immediate comment on Save the Children’s statement.
Inger Esching, head of Save the Children, said, “There are not enough words to express the sadness and outrage we feel at Ahmed’s death in the Israeli airstrike. He was a valued member of our team and everyone who met him Everybody loved him.” the executive said in the statement.
In another attack in Khan Yunis, medics said at least nine Palestinians were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a car near a crowd receiving flour, a vehicle used to oversee aid distribution in Gaza. This was done by the security personnel deployed there.
The Israeli military says it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of operating from civilian facilities and using Gaza’s population as human shields, which the group denies.
Gaza medics said at least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks overnight and Saturday, including seven in an attack on a house in central Gaza city that Gaza officials said were killed.
new ceasefire efforts
Meanwhile, days after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, Hamas leaders were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, two officials with the group told Reuters.
The visit is the first since the United States announced earlier this week that it would revive efforts with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian security officials to explore ways to reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel that would ensure the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Progress so far has been limited in a series of negotiations lasting months.
Hamas is seeking an agreement that would end the war while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will end only when Hamas is eliminated.
Gaza officials say at least 44,382 people have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and nearly the entire population of the enclave has been displaced at least once. Large parts of Gaza are in ruins.
According to Israeli officials, the conflict began more than 13 months ago when Hamas-led operatives attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 hostages.
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