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Israeli airstrike on car in Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people, including World Central Kitchen employees, and the charity said it was “urgently seeking more details” after the Israeli military said it had targeted a WCK worker who was part of a Hamas attack that sparked the war.
WCK said it was “devastated” by the airstrike and had no knowledge that anyone in the car was allegedly connected to the October 7, 2023 attack, saying it was “working with incomplete information.” He said he was pausing operations in Gaza.
The charity’s work in Gaza was temporarily suspended earlier this year after an Israeli strike killed seven of its workers, including an Australian.
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The Israeli military said in a statement that the alleged attacker took part in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz and asked “senior officials of the international community and the WCK administration to clarify” how he came to work for the charity.
Violence in Gaza raged even as the truce between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be holding, despite sporadic episodes that tested its fragility.
The attack on the vehicle highlighted what aid agencies call the perilous job of delivering aid in Gaza, where the war has displaced much of its 2.3 million population and caused widespread hunger.
Palestinian health official Muneer Alboursh confirmed the strike.
At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, a woman held up an employee’s badge with the WCK logo, the word “contractor” and the name of the man said to have been killed. The belongings – burnt phones, a watch and stickers with the WCK logo – lay on the hospital floor.
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Nazmi Ahmed said that his nephew had been working for WCK for the past year. He said he drove to charity kitchens and warehouses.
“He went out to work today as usual… and was targeted without warning and without any reason,” Ahmed said.
In April, a strike on a WCK aid convoy killed seven workers – three British citizens, a Polish and Australian citizen, a Canadian-American dual citizen and a Palestinian. The Israeli military called the attack a mistake.
That strike caused an international outcry and the brief suspension of aid to Gaza by several groups, including the WCK.
Another Palestinian WCK worker was killed in August by shrapnel from an Israeli airstrike, the group said.
Another Israeli air strike on Saturday hit a car near a food distribution site in Khan Younis, killing 13 people, including children.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies.
“They were handing out aid, vegetables and we saw the missile land,” said witness Rami Al-Sori. The woman sat on the ground and cried.
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The ceasefire appears to be holding
Efforts to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly failed.
But the US-France-brokered deal for Lebanon appears to be on hold after it came into force on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Israel’s military said it attacked sites used to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon after the ceasefire came into effect.
There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities, Hezbollah or activists monitoring the conflict there.
Israeli planes have targeted Hezbollah targets in Lebanon several times since the ceasefire, citing violations.
The Israeli strike in Syria came after rebels swept into the country’s largest city, Aleppo, in a shock offensive that has brought fresh uncertainty to the region.
The truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah calls for an initial two-month ceasefire in which the militants are to withdraw north of Lebanon’s Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border.
Many Lebanese, some of the 1.2 million displaced, have fled south to their homes, despite warnings from the Israeli and Lebanese armies to stay away from certain areas.
“Day by day, we will return to our normal lives,” said Mustafa Badawi, a cafe owner in Tyre.
The toll of conflict
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency announced that an Israeli drone attack on the village of Rub Thalatheen killed two people and wounded others.
Another strike is said to have hit a car in the southern village of Majdal Zoun, and Lebanon’s health ministry said three people were wounded, including a seven-year-old.
The Israeli military said it was working to remove “suspects” in the region, without giving details.
Israel says it reserves the right to strike against any perceived violation.
Israel made the return of tens of thousands of displaced Israelis home as the goal of the war. But the Israelis were afraid to return.
“No, it won’t be like before,” said one Israeli evacuee, Lavie Eini.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and its attack on southern Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah maintained cross-border fire for nearly a year until Israel escalated an attack that detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah. He then launched an intense aerial bombardment campaign that killed Hezbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, and launched a ground invasion in early October.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting has killed more than 70 people in Israel – more than half civilians – as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
In the October 2023 Hamas attack, 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 were taken hostage.
On Saturday, Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Speaking under duress, Alexander mentioned being held in custody for 420 days and mentioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent offer of $5 million for the hostages’ return. “The prime minister is supposed to protect his soldiers and citizens, and you have abandoned us,” Alexander said.
Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister spoke to Alexander’s family following the release of the “brutal psychological warfare footage” which had an “important and exciting sign of life”.
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