The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today, Saturday, the suspension of its operations at a water bottling site east of Gaza City, until the security situation in the area improved, after two of its contractors were killed by Israeli fire while they were performing their work. Palestinian medical sources stated that the Israeli bombing resulted in the death of the two brothers, Eid and Mahmoud Abu Warda, who work as drivers in the organization, in addition to the injury of two other people, as a result of the desalination plant located on Mansoura Street in Al-Shujaiya neighborhood on Friday morning. UNICEF expressed its outrage over the death of the drivers, explaining that the accident occurred while carrying out a regular mission to transport the water to the residents, without any change in work procedures or movement paths.
The organization stated that targeting humanitarian workers jeopardizes the delivery of essential services, particularly given the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
It called for an immediate investigation into the incident and for those responsible to be held accountable, emphasizing the need to protect humanitarian workers and civilian infrastructure, including water facilities, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
