WHO Suspends Medical Evacuation from Gaza After a Contractor Dies in Shooting

The medical team documents while evacuating from the Gaza Strip to Egypt via Rafah. (Twitter/@PalestineRCS)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) suspended medical evacuations from the Gaza Strip, Palestine to Egypt after a security incident that left a contract worker dead, while Israel on Tuesday fired on its soldiers when faced with an immediate threat.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on social media X that the health agency "is deeply saddened to confirm that a person contracted to provide services to the organization in Gaza was killed (Monday) during a security incident."

The two staff members who were also present were not injured, he added, as reported by Al Arabiya from AFP (7/4).

The WHO did not provide further explanation, but said the incident was "being investigated by the relevant authorities."

Meanwhile, the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in a post on the social media X on Tuesday, wrote, "the IDF forces identified a unmarked vehicle approaching them and posed an immediate threat," a day earlier, stressing "the forces fired warning shots" in response.

"The vehicle continued to accelerate towards the troops, who then returned fire with additional shots, and a shot hit the target," the post said, adding that "the incident is under investigation."

Tedros said WHO had suspended "the medical evacuation of patients from Gaza through Rafah to Egypt" which had been planned for Monday.

"Medical evacuations will remain suspended until further notice," he said.

"We call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers," Tedros said.

It is known that Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10 in the Gaza Strip, after two years of devastating war.