The Israeli army announced that it had “eliminated a terrorist” from Hamas in a targeted airstrike on Wednesday in Rafah, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip where the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) deplored a strike of Israel on one of its warehouses. The name of this member of the Palestinian Islamist movement given by the army, Mohammad Abou Hasna, appears on the list of four dead from the strike on the Unrwa warehouse communicated a little earlier by the Hamas Ministry of Health , where he is identified as a movement police officer responsible for the security of this warehouse.
“Hasna was a combat support officer in the armed wing of Hamas. He was also involved in [le détournement] humanitarian aid and its distribution to Hamas terrorists,” the army wrote in a statement. UNRWA had indicated a little earlier that at least one of its employees had been killed in a strike on one of its warehouses in Rafah. “At least one UNRWA employee was killed and 22 others injured in an Israeli strike against a food distribution center in eastern Rafah,” the UN agency wrote, without giving the name of this employee. The Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza identified one of the dead, Hosni Abou Jazar, as an Unrwa employee.
Tensions at their highest
“Today’s attack on one of the few UNRWA distribution centers still functional in the Gaza Strip comes at a time when malnutrition, even famine in certain areas, is spreading” in the territory. , denounced the head of Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, quoted in the press release. “Every day we give our coordinates to the parties in conflict. The Israeli army received the coordinates, including those of this center, yesterday (Tuesday),” he added. Since the start of the war on October 7, at least 165 members of the UN agency have been killed and more than 140 of its centers, including many schools, have been affected, the press release recalls.
“Since the start of the war, attacks against UN centers have become habitual,” added Mr. Lazzarini, denouncing “a flagrant violation of international law.” An AFP photographer saw victims arriving at al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, at least one of whom was identified by others at the hospital as a UN employee. Tensions have been at their highest between UNRWA and Israel since Israeli authorities accused 12 agency employees at the end of January of being involved in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas and leading to the death of 1,160 people. in Israel, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
They went up a notch last week when the Israeli army accused UNRWA of employing “more than 450 terrorists” in Gaza. Unrwa for its part affirmed that some of its employees had “reported (…) that they had been forced to make confessions under torture” when they were “questioned about relations between Unrwa and Hamas and involvement in the October 7 attack on Israel. In retaliation for this attack, Israel launched a military offensive which has so far left more than 31,000 dead in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.