The United Nations humanitarian relief agency that operates in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Wednesday that four of its staff had been killed by Israeli airstrikes on the densely packed Palestinian territory since the Jewish state started retaliating for Hamas’ brutal terror attack on Saturday.
Juliet Touma, the communications director for the U.N.’s Palestine Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said in statements published by the global body’s own UN News outlet that at least 14 of its facilities in Gaza had been damaged by the strikes.
Touma said UNRWA had not been able to bring any additional aid into Gaza since Saturday, when Hamas militants unleashed an unprecedented ground, air and sea assault on Israel. Israeli forces have tightened their longstanding blockade of Gaza since the attack, sealing off the coastal strip of land and vowing that nothing would go in or out, including water, food, medicine, gas or electricity.
Touma said UNRWA staff were continuing their humanitarian despite the risks presented by Israel’s bombardment and the challenges increased by the blockade.
Israel has long accused Hamas of positioning its fighters and weapons in or near Gaza homes, mosques and schools, including those run by the U.N. agency.
