Hamas has killed five people in an attack on a bus carrying Palestinian aid workers, according to the US and Israeli-backed firm running distribution efforts in Gaza.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates four Secure Distribution Sites (SDSs) in the southern part of the Strip, said that more than two dozen of its staff had been ambushed by terrorists at around 10pm local time last night.
The foundation was able to confirm five deaths on the bus, while it also expressed concerns that some of its staff may have been taken hostage, with several workers unaccounted for.
A GHF spokesperson said: “Tonight...a bus carrying more than two dozen members of the GHF team, local Palestinians working side-by-side with the US GHF team to deliver critical aid, was brutally attacked by Hamas.
"At the time of the attack, our team was en route to one of our distribution centers in the area west of Khan Younis.
“We are still gathering facts but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage.
"We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms. These were aid workers...who were risking their lives every day to help others.”
According to the firm, the attack came after several days of threats from Hamas, which is demanding the withdrawal of the GHF and the reinstatement of the aid programme administered by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa).
Israel claims that the previous distribution system allowed widespread looting of aid by terrorists and that Unrwa has been infiltrated by Hamas, citing this as its reasoning for backing the GHF.
The spokesperson added: “These threats were met with silence.
"The GHF holds Hamas fully responsible for taking the lives of our dedicated workers who have been distributing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
“Tonight, the world must see this for what it is – an attack on humanity. We call on the international community to condemn Hamas for this unprovoked attack and continued threats against our people simply for trying to feed the Palestinian people.”
The GHF’s sites, which are in IDF-controlled areas designated as “conflict zones” outside of the firm’s operating hours, have been a source of controversy since the programme was established last month.
There have been several fatal incidents arounds SDSs, with the Hamas-run Ministry of Health claiming that more than 60 people have died – though its death toll figures in the wider war have previously been debunked.
Hamas, as well as much of the international media, claimed that Israeli troops were behind one of the largest casualty events last week, but the IDF insisted that it was not responsible and later released footage of masked gunmen, which it suggested were linked to the terror group, firing on civilians.
However, the military has since confirmed in relation to separate incidents that soldiers had fired “warning shots” towards groups of “suspects” who had departed from the approved access routes and approached soldiers in a threatening manner. An IDF spokesperson confirmed that investigations are ongoing in relation to reports of fatalities.
It comes as aid entered the northern Gaza Strip for the first time in months, with 56 World Food Programme trucks allowed through the Zikim Crossing, just north of Jabalia.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said the new aid push was done with “the approval of the political echelon and on the recommendation of the security authorities”.
Israel had been criticised by international allies, including the UK, for restricting aid to southern Gaza and channeling everything through the GHF.
