Humanitarian workers killed in Gaza bus ambush that Israel blames on Hamas
JERUSALEM/CAIRO, June 12 (Reuters) - Israel accused Hamas militants of killing five Palestinians who worked for the U.S-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in an apparent effort to disrupt their food distribution operations.
GHF said in a statement that one of its buses was ambushed late on Wednesday as it headed to an aid centre near the southern city of Khan Younis, carrying local men who worked alongside a U.S. team to deliver critical supplies.
"Hamas murdered five humanitarian workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with others being kidnapped," said COGAT, the Israeli defence agency that coordinates humanitarian matters with the Palestinians.
"The international community can not ignore Hamas's crimes against humanitarian workers," it added.
Hamas declined to comment on the shootings.
Social media channels in Gaza said Hamas had targeted the bus because it was allegedly carrying people affiliated with Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of a large clan which has challenged Hamas's supremacy in the enclave and is being armed by Israel.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the local health authority said at least 30 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Thursday, as the small coastal enclave continued to be roiled by violence and destruction.
The IDF said it had killed three militants who fired an anti-tank missile towards Israeli soldiers. It also said it had arrested several Hamas members in Syria overnight, accusing them of planning to attack Israeli civilians and IDF forces.
Israel has fought for more than 20 months to eliminate Hamas after it launched deadly attacks October 7, 2023 that ignited the war. All efforts to end the conflict through negotiations have failed.
Despite the bus attack, GHF said it was continuing its distribution efforts on Thursday, handing out food boxes early at one of its sites, before shutting its gates there.
The GHF has handed out more than 16 million meals since it started operations in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of food distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 160 people have been killed by Israeli fire near the aid centres, as the aid effort repeatedly degenerated into chaos and terror with ravenous locals scrabbling for limited supplies.
"This model will not address the deepening hunger. The dystopian 'Hunger Games' cannot become the new reality," Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), wrote on X.
"The UN including @UNRWA have the knowledge, expertise & community trust to provide dignified & safe assistance. Just let the humanitarians do their jobs," he added.
Israel has repeatedly called for UNRWA to be disbanded, accusing it of having ties with Hamas. UNRWA has denied this.
Besides the GHF distribution effort, Israel is also letting into Gaza trucks carrying flour for the handful of bakeries that are still operating.
For the first time in months, Israel allowed humanitarian trucks to enter northern Gaza directly overnight -- with 56 lorries carrying supplies from the U.N.'s World Food Programme crossing into the largely devastated region.
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