Key points
- Oxfam says four plumbing engineers have been killed in southern Gaza while on their way to repair water infrastructure.
- Their “clearly marked vehicle” was bombed despite prior coordination with Israeli authorities, the NGO said.
- Doctors Without Borders called on Israeli forces to “immediately stop their attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza.”
Oxfam has condemned the killing of four plumbing engineers who the aid group said were on their way to repair water infrastructure in southern Gaza when their “clearly marked vehicle” was bombed.
The organization said the four people, who worked with Oxfam’s partner Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), had prior coordination with Israeli authorities of their movements, before they were killed in Khan Younis while on their way to repair work on Saturday.
“Despite prior coordination with the Israeli authorities, their clearly marked vehicle was bombed,” Oxfam said.
Oxfam called for accountability and an independent investigation into the accident, adding that dozens of engineers, civilians and in Israeli airstrikes during the war between Hamas and Israel.
“They were all working on essential services to keep Gaza’s fragile infrastructure running. Although their movements were coordinated with Israeli authorities by the CMWU and the Palestinian Water Authority to ensure their safety, they were still targeted “
“We reiterate our calls for a ceasefire, the immediate suspension of arms transfers to Israel, and for the international community to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its continued attacks on civilians and those working to provide life-saving services.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been contacted for comment.
“Bodies strewn in the streets”
On October 6, the IDF launched a major air and ground assault against northern Gaza. Since then, it has tightened its siege, displacing tens of thousands of people.
Gaza’s civil defense agency says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in the north in the past two weeks.
“There are dozens of bodies scattered on the streets of Jabalia due to the continuous shelling,” Gaza civil protection agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Bassal said the dead included women, children and the elderly.
“They were all transferred to Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip,” Bassal said.
Israel’s military press department, contacted by AFP, said it was “checking” the reports.
On Sunday, Bassal said an Israeli airstrike on a residential area killed at least 73 Palestinians in Beit Lahiya, in the territory’s north.
Israel said it had struck a “Hamas terrorist target” but provided no further details on who was the target of the attack and disputed the figure given by Gaza authorities.
The initial review indicated that the numbers “do not align with information held by the IDF (army), the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the attack against a Hamas terrorist target.”
Doctors denounce “collective punishment”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, on Sunday called on Israeli forces to “immediately stop their attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza.”
The group said Israeli forces were “besieging and targeting” Indonesian hospitals, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan, citing health workers and the Gaza Ministry of Health.
MSF reported that more than 350 patients were trapped inside, including pregnant women and people who had recently undergone surgery, who require ongoing medical care and cannot leave.
“This is purely and simply a collective punishment imposed on Palestinians in Gaza, who must choose between being forcibly displaced by the North or killed. We fear this will not stop,” said Anna Halford, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza .
“Israel’s all-out war on Gaza appears to have no end in sight. Israel’s allies bear a heavy responsibility for this terrible situation, caused by their unwavering support for the war. They must immediately do everything in their power to achieve a ceasefire the lasting fire. Not tomorrow, not in a week, now,” Halford added.
