Anera claims the attack on a convoy heading to an Emirati hospital “was carried out without any warning or prior communication.”
An Israeli missile hit a convoy carrying medical supplies and fuel to an Emirati hospital in the Gaza Strip, killing several people from a local transport company, the US-based Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) said.
Israel said, without immediate evidence, that it opened fire after gunmen seized the convoy.
The strike killed several people employed by a transport company the aid group was using to deliver supplies to the Emirates Red Crescent hospital in Rafah, Sandra Rasheed, Anera’s director for the Palestinian territory, said Friday.
The strike took place on Thursday in Salah al-Din Street in the Gaza Strip, hitting the first vehicle in the convoy.
“The convoy, coordinated by Anera and approved by Israeli authorities, included an Anera employee who was fortunately unharmed,” Rasheed said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press news agency.
“Despite this devastating incident, we understand that the remaining vehicles in the convoy were able to continue on their way and deliver aid to the hospital. We are urgently seeking more detailed information on what happened.”
In a later statement, Anera said four Palestinians were killed in the strike.
The dead were identified as “four community members with experience in previous missions and commitment to community safety.”
They “came forward and asked to take command of the lead vehicle, citing concern that the road was dangerous and at risk of looting,” Anera’s statement said.
“The four community members were not vetted or coordinated in advance, and Israeli authorities say the lead car was carrying numerous weapons. The Israeli airstrike was carried out without any warning or prior communication.”
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on the social media platform X that “armed men seized a car at the front of the convoy (a jeep) and started driving.”
“After the seizure operation and after confirming the possibility of attacking only the militants’ vehicle, the raid was carried out, as the other vehicles in the convoy were not damaged and reached their target according to the plan,” Adraee wrote. “The operation targeting the militants eliminated the risk of seizing the humanitarian convoy.”
The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020 and has provided aid to Gaza since the start of the ongoing war, did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on other aid convoys in the Gaza Strip. The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday that it was suspending all movement of its staff in Gaza until further notice, after Israeli troops opened fire on one of its vehicles, hitting it with at least 10 bullets. The shooting took place despite several authorizations from Israeli authorities.
On July 23, UNICEF said two of its vehicles were hit by live ammunition while waiting at a designated holding point. In April, an Israeli attack hit three World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven people.
According to the UN, more than 280 aid workers have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
Meanwhile, Mercy Corps vice president of global policy and advocacy Kate Phillips-Barrasso said recent attacks on aid convoys in Gaza left “no good choice” for humanitarian organizations.
“They can either take enormous risks or make the difficult decision to suspend operations, even as millions of lives hang in the balance,” she said in a statement.
Phillips-Barrasso said her group has consistently expressed concerns about the lack of security guarantees and denials of access that make getting aid to Gaza “nearly impossible.”
“With famine looming and the first case of polio confirmed among unvaccinated children since the conflict began, it is unacceptable and dangerous to fail to overcome these obstacles,” she added.
Israeli forces continue to close vital border crossings into Gaza, where famine looms and extreme hunger is spreading rapidly. Humanitarian aid has been arriving intermittently in the besieged and bombed territory since Israel launched its latest offensive nearly ten months ago.
Hospitals are also running out of fuel for generators, medicines and other essential supplies.