GAZA: A US-based aid group on Friday said an Israeli air strike killed four people accompanying its convoy in besieged Gaza the day before.
“An Israeli air strike yesterday killed four Palestinians in the lead vehicle of an Anera aid convoy carrying food and fuel to the Emirati Red Crescent Hospital,” Anera in a statement said.
It said the dead were four community members with experience in previous missions and engagement in community security adding that they were not Anera staff members.
It added the individuals killed in the strike had requested to lead the vehicle, citing concern that the route was not safe.
The statement said the four community members were not coordinated in advance. However, the Israeli authorities allege that the lead car was carrying large number of weapons. Israel conducted the strike without any prior warning or communication.
A statement from the Israeli military, which did not provide exact number of death toll, said the strike took place after a number of armed assailants seized control of the vehicle.
Anera said none of its staff were harmed in the strike though one Anera employee, who was in the second vehicle, saw the incident at close range.
The ongoing war in Gaza, since October 7 last year has led to a major humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory while putting aid workers at risk.
According to Gaza health officials Israel’s relentless bombardment in Gaza, has killed at least 40,602 Palestinians mostly women and children and injured over 93,855 others.
The World Food Programme on Wednesday said it was halting movement of its staff in Gaza until further notice after one of its vehicles came under attack at an Israeli military checkpoint.
