Aid group says worker killed by Israeli military in attack on Gaza HQ

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has accused Israeli forces of attacking its headquarters in the Gaza Strip, killing one worker and injuring three others.

The humanitarian organisation said the attack "sparked a fire in the building" early on Sunday.

Describing the overnight attack on the facility in the southern city of Khan Younis as "deliberate", the PRCS said its HQs location was "well known" to the Israeli military and was "clearly marked with the protective red emblem".

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC it was reviewing the claim that a PRCS building was damaged and "uninvolved individuals in the Khan Younis area were harmed as a result of an IDF strike".

A video shared by the PRCS on social media showed parts of the building on fire and filled with clouds of smoke, while aftermath pictures showed heavy damage to the building and several large bloodstains.

In a statement, the aid agency said that "shortly after midnight, Israeli artillery directly struck the upper floors" of the building.

"As PRCS teams were evacuating staff and inspecting the damage, the second floor was hit again, followed by direct shelling of the ground floor - precisely while rescue teams were fighting the blaze caused by the bombing."

The PRCS named the killed worker as Omar Isleem and said it was "heartbroken" over his death. It said two other workers were injured, as well as a civilian who was trying to put out the fire. The agency said the building was "clearly marked" with its emblem.

"This was not a mistake," the PRCS added. "We renew our call for accountability and for the protection of all humanitarian and medical personnel."

The aid agency said that since the start of the war "51 staff and volunteers in Gaza were killed by Israel, including 29 who lost their lives while performing humanitarian duties".

The UN Human Rights office expressed its "deep shock and outrage over continued killings of emergency workers in Gaza" and urged an independent investigation.

The incident comes as warnings about the humanitarian situation in Gaza grow.

On Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said at least 104 people had been killed by Israels military offensive in the past 24 hours. The ministry said 65 people were killed seeking aid.

Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat told the BBC that five people were killed and 30 injured by Israeli forces near the northernmost aid distribution point run by the US and Israeli-backed organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The IDF said its troops fired warning shots at a gathering advancing towards them "in a manner that posed a threat" hundreds of meters away from the site and not during its operating hours.

The IDF said it was not aware of any casualties as a result of the warning shots, with the details of the incident still being examined.

The BBC verified the location of a video, posted on social media on Sunday, about 500 meters (1,600 feet) from the aid distribution site in which gunshots can be heard and seen hitting the ground near a crowd of people crouched down. Gunshots then hit a wall near where another group is lying down or sitting.

It is not clear from the video who is shooting.

Latest figures from the UN indicate that at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May.

The majority have been killed by the Israeli military near GHF sites, the UN says. The GHF denies the UNs figure of at least 859 killed in the vicinity of its sites.

Israel has accused Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid centres and says its forces do not intentionally open fire on civilians.

Meanwhile, Egyptian state media has reported that two lorries containing much-needed fuel are waiting to enter Gaza.

Medics have been warning of shortages in vital medical facilities for weeks, after Israel began an 11-week blockade of all aid and goods into Gaza.

This has since been partially lifted, but humanitarian agencies have said more aid must be allowed to enter Gaza to prevent famine and malnutrition worsening.

The Hamas-run health ministry said on Sunday that another six people died from malnutrition, bringing the total since the start of the war to 175, including 93 children.

Israel denies it is deliberately blocking aid flowing into Gaza and accuses the UN and other aid agencies of failing to deliver it.

On Sunday, the IDF said that 136 aid packages, containing food for residents in southern and northern Gaza, were airdropped by Israel in co-operation with the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France, Germany and Belgium.

The IDF launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says 60,839 people have since been killed across the Gaza Strip.