Aid groups urge change after ‘systematic’ Israel attacks on humanitarian efforts in Gaza

“UNPRECEDENTED DANGER”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had “unintentionally” killed the aid workers, calling it a “tragic case” that would be investigated “right to the end”.

The war erupted after Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Palestinian militants also seized around 250 hostages. Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead.

Israel’s relentless retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,975 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Gaza is under a near-complete blockade, with the United Nations accusing Israel of preventing deliveries of humanitarian assistance to its population of 2.4 million.

France-based Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has lost five Palestinian employees since the start of the war. They were killed either in Israeli bombardments or shot at point-blank range close by an Israeli roadblock, according to the group.

“The level of danger we are facing in Gaza is unprecedented in the history of MSF,” said spokeswoman Claire Magone.

Caroline Seguin, deputy programme manager for the Middle East at MSF, believes Israeli authorities are targeting hospitals intentionally and also restricting their ability to deploy equipment.

“There are now only 10 or so hospitals operating in the Gaza Strip, whereas there used to be 36,” Seguin said. “There’s a lot of equipment that we’re trying to get in, but the Israelis are systematically rejecting it, particularly desalination plants so that we can give people plenty of water.”

“I don’t know how we’re going to carry on working,” she added. “We will continue, for as long as we can.”