Effects of the Israeli attack on aid workers in Deir al-Balah (French)
Relief organizations condemned the killing of 7 humanitarian workers on Monday in an Israeli raid that they said was an indication of the "systematic" attacks launched by Israel against non-governmental organizations in Gaza, hoping for strong international "measures" to be taken to avoid other similar tragedies.
Representatives of a number of these organizations told Agence France-Presse that the attack that led to the killing of two Western aid workers demonstrates that non-governmental organizations are working in an unsafe environment in the devastated and besieged Strip, as many of them have been subjected to attacks since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza about 6 months ago.
More than 200 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to NGOs, including at least 165 working for the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The American World Central Kitchen organization, which condemned the "targeted attack," said that its employees were bombed after they left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, in the middle of the Strip, on Monday, where they unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid, and the cars carrying them bore the logo of the charitable organization that coordinated with The Israeli army moved them.
NGOs operating in Gaza are trying to protect their crews from Israeli attacks by reporting their movements and sending the coordinates of their buildings to an Israeli “platform,” according to Benjamin Godan, Emergency First International’s official in charge of operations in the Middle East.
Camilla Dogliotti, of Handicap International, whose headquarters in Gaza City was bombed at the end of January, said that the level of risks faced by humanitarian workers “is very high in certain areas of southern and central Gaza and unacceptable in all other areas.”
She added, "This new attack is primarily a result of Israel's continued failure to comply with international humanitarian law and provide the required protection to civilians, including humanitarian workers."
Among the strikes that caused great devastation in Gaza during the past six months, Doctors Without Borders counted 21 “strikes” or “incidents” that targeted hospitals or clinics that benefit from its support, or even ambulances.
Claire Magon, spokeswoman for this non-governmental organization, said, “The level of danger we face in Gaza is unprecedented in the history of Doctors Without Borders,” noting that 5 Palestinian employees of the organization were killed, “either in Israeli bombing, or by gunfire from close range at an Israeli checkpoint.” ".
Source: French