Israel Claims Attack on UN Food Distribution Center in Rafah Kills Hamas Commander

Illustration of UNRWA facilities affected by Israeli attacks. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - Israel claims its air attack on the UN food distribution center in Rafah, southern Gaza killed a Hamas commander who was their target, while Palestinian health officials said the attack killed four other people, including a UN worker.

The UN's main Palestinian agency (UNRWA) said one of its facilities had been attacked in Rafah, the area where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents had taken refuge.

At least one UNRWA staff member was among the five people killed and 22 others injured, the agency said, adding the coordinates of the facility had been shared with the Israeli military.

"Today's attack on one of UNRWA's few remaining distribution centers in the Gaza Strip comes at a time when food supplies are running low, hunger is widespread and, in some areas, turning into famine," said UNRWA Head Philippe Lazzarini, reported by Reuters on March 14.

The Israeli military said the attack killed Mohammad Abu Hasna, whom it described as a Hamas militant who provided the group with intelligence on Israeli troop positions, and "was also involved in taking control of humanitarian aid and distributing it to Hamas terrorists."

Meanwhile, Hamas denies Israeli accusations that it is diverting food aid and says Israel is using famine to oppress the Palestinian population.

In a statement, Hamas said Abu Hasna was a member of its police force and condemned his killing as a "cowardly murder" intended to disrupt aid distribution.

Hamas identified another of the five people killed as the head of the Rafah emergency committee, Nidal al-Sheikh Eid.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference he had not received details of the incident but said Israel must protect the safety of humanitarian workers despite the difficult conditions.

"You are in a war zone. There are terrorist groups shooting from hospitals, from schools, from apartment buildings, but the Israeli military, the Israeli government has a responsibility and an obligation to do everything possible to ensure that humanitarian agencies do nothing to protect, they can carry out their duties," explained Foreign Minister Blinken.

With the Gaza war now entering its sixth month, the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza, a quarter of Gaza's population, are on the brink of starvation and global pressure is mounting on Israel to grant more access to the territory.