By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-19 23:56:33 | Updated at 2025-03-20 15:45:11
15 hours ago
Israel launched an investigation into a UN worker’s death in Gaza on Wednesday, a foreign ministry spokesman said, after the military denied responsibility for the deadly blast.
The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) announced the death of one of its employees in Gaza when a United Nations building in the central city of Deir al-Balah was hit by an unidentified piece of “explosive ordnance”.
The incident, which UNOPS said also left five people injured, came as Israel renewed its intense bombardment of the Palestinian territory, carrying out the deadliest wave of attacks since a January truce in its war against militant group Hamas.
UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva said in a statement that he was “shocked and devastated” by the staff member’s death.
“This was not an accident,” he said, adding that “attacks against humanitarian premises are a breach of international law” and that UN personnel and premises “must be protected by all sides”.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a statement on social media that “we express sorrow over the death of the Bulgarian citizen, a UN worker, today in the Gaza Strip”.
