Gaza Strip: GHF aid workers likely killed in Hamas attack – hostage-taking feared

Five aid workers from the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) were killed in a Hamas attack, according to the organization. According to current information, there are "at least five fatalities, numerous injuries, and fears that some of our team members have been taken hostage," a statement from Washington, where the GHF is based, said. However, the organization is still in the process of gathering the exact facts.

A group of more than two dozen aid workers were on their way to an aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip when their bus was "brutally attacked" by Hamas at around 10 p.m. (local time, 9 p.m. CEST), the GHF said. "We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms," ​​the statement continued. "These were aid workers. Humanitarian workers. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends who risked their lives every day to help others."

In an email to AFP, the GHF stated that all passengers on the bus were Palestinians and aid workers. They were on their way to the GHF distribution center in the area west of Khan Yunis.

Gaza Strip: Aid organization GHF is controversial

The GHF began its work in the Gaza Strip on May 26, opening four distribution centers in the south and central part of the Palestinian Territories. The foundation's deployment followed a three-month Israeli blockade of aid deliveries to the Palestinian Territories. According to the foundation, it has so far distributed several million food parcels to the needy population.

The aid organization is controversial – the UN and major aid organizations refuse to cooperate with the foundation. They accuse it of aligning itself with the plans of the Israeli army. Israel, in turn, has long accused UN organizations such as the Palestinian Relief Agency (UNRWA), which has operated in the Gaza Strip for decades, of being infiltrated by Hamas.