Although Israel was dropping aid directly to the north, Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the main UN agency providing support to Palestinians in Gaza, said Israeli forces had hit a food distribution center in the southern city of Rafah, killing one service. worker and injuring 22 others. He said the center was hit even though UNRWA shares the coordinates of its facilities with all parties to the war.
“Attacks against UN facilities, convoys and personnel have become routine, in flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law,” Mr Lazzarini said.
The Israeli military, in a statement, said Wednesday’s strike “precisely targeted and eliminated a terrorist,” but made no mention of other injuries. It identified the target as Mohammed Abu Hasna, who “coordinated the activities of various Hamas units” and provided information on Israeli military positions to Hamas fighters.
As Israel pursues its goal of eliminating Hamas, its military said on Wednesday it had killed a senior Hamas figure in an airstrike in southern Lebanon, the latest in a series of targeted killings in Lebanon since October 7.
The Hamas official, Hadi Ali Mustafa, was “an important operative in the section of Hamas responsible for its international terrorist activities,” the Israeli military said in a statement. He added that he had been involved in attacks “against Israeli and Jewish targets in various countries around the world.” She did not elaborate and her claims could not be independently verified.
In a statement, Hamas’ military wing confirmed that Mr. Mustafa had been killed, but gave no indication of his role within the organization. The Israeli airstrike, on a car near the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre, also killed a passing motorcyclist, Lebanese state media reported.
Israel has faced increasing pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, including from the United States, which last week outlined a plan to deliver supplies by sea. On Tuesday, a ship carrying more than 200 tons of food for the territory left Cyprus, in the first test of the sea route. Military planes from several nations, including the United States, also parachuted aid into Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday that he had spoken with officials from Cyprus, Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar about the sea lane for ships carrying humanitarian supplies. He said land routes remain the best way to get large amounts of aid into Gaza, but only if Israel opens more border crossings.
“Israel still needs to open as many access points as possible and keep them open to make sure things run sustainably,” he told a news conference in Washington.
Aid groups have said a cumbersome Israeli inspection process has slowed critical humanitarian aid.
