Aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, according to a charity that spoke to the BBC.

 

Aid workers killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza, charity tells BBC

Israeli strikes in northern Gaza have killed a team of charity workers, the Al Khair Foundation said.
The charity said eight workers - including volunteers and journalists documenting their activities - were killed when their vehicles were targeted on Saturday in what Hamas described as a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire agreement with Israel.

The Israeli military has said it struck "two terrorists who were identified operating a drone that posed a threat to Israeli troops," adding that it then targeted "additional terrorists" who arrived at the scene.

The charity rejects the allegation that members of its team were terrorists.

 

Qasim Rashid Ahmad, the charity's founder and chairman, told the BBC the team was in the area to set up tents and document them. This was for the charity's promotion efforts.

 

He said that two cameramen had come back to the car and were hit. Other team members who rushed to the scene were struck by an Israeli drone that followed them when they returned to the charity's second car. Attacking aid workers in conflict zones can have grave humanitarian consequences, disrupting vital assistance to vulnerable populations. Such actions establish a troubling precedent, potentially deterring other organizations from providing aid due to safety fears. This could significantly diminish support for victims of conflict, worsening the suffering of civilians in desperate situations.

 

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, several other individuals were injured and taken to the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

 

A spokesman for the group, Hazem Qassem, said Israel had "committed a horrific massacre in the northern Gaza Strip by targeting journalists and humanitarian workers."

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in place since January, after 15 months of fighting. However, its future is uncertain as the process has reached an impasse.

 

The first phase of the multi-stage deal saw Hamas return dozens of hostages, both alive and dead, captured during its attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. This was in exchange for 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

On Saturday, a Palestinian official told the BBC that talks to extend the first phase of the ceasefire—which ended on 1 March—ended without an agreement.

Negotiators were working on a US-proposed extension, which would include a further exchange of hostages and prisoners.

Washington accused Hamas of making "entirely impractical" demands. The group demands immediate talks on the second phase, including a permanent ceasefire, as part of the January agreement between Qatar, Egypt, and the US.

Hamas's unprecedented assault on Israel on 7 October 2023 saw about 1,200 people killed and 251 others taken to Gaza as hostages.

Israel responded with a massive military offensive on the Palestinian territory, which killed more than 48,300 people, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says.