The Briton, who was working in Gaza as an explosive ordnance disposal expert for the Mines Advisory Group, was treated locally before being moved to a hospital in Israel
A bomb disposal expert from the UK has been injured in an explosion in Gaza. The unnamed 51-year-old was wounded at a UN facility in Deir Al-Balah on Wednesday. Four others were injured and a UN worker was killed in the incident. The Briton, who was working in Gaza as an explosive ordnance disposal expert for the Mines Advisory Group, was treated locally before being moved to a hospital in Israel. Darren Cormack, the charity’s CEO, told the BBC that the man was conducting an explosive hazards assessment at a UN Office for Project Services facility when the explosion occurred.
“The UN has confirmed that today’s incident did not occur in the course of normal EOD operations and resulted from ordnance being fired at or dropped on the building in which the team was working,” Cormack said. “It is shocking that a humanitarian facility should be subject to attacks of this nature and that humanitarian workers are being killed and injured in the line of duty.” Cormack added: “Attacks against humanitarian premises are a breach of international law.” Health authorities in Gaza said the explosion was a result of Israeli military activity.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein posted on X: “The circumstances of the incident are being investigated. We emphasize that the initial examination found no connection to IDF (Israel Defense Forces) activity whatsoever.” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told the BBC: “We are making it clear that all military operations have to be conducted in a way that ensures that all civilians are respected and protected.”
UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva said the explosion was “not an accident” and described the situation in Gaza as “unconscionable.”
Meanwhile, The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Thursday there were fears “the worst is yet to come” in Gaza, denouncing “endless” suffering after Israel renewed deadly air and ground operations. “Israeli Forces bombardment continues from air & sea for the third day,” Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X. “We are fearing that the worst is yet to come given the ongoing ground invasion separating the north from the south.”
Israel announced renewed ground operations in Gaza on Wednesday and issued what it called a “last warning” to residents of the territory to return hostages and remove Hamas from power. Heavy air strikes began pounding Gaza early on Tuesday, killing at least 504 people including more than 190 children, according to the civil defense agency in the Hamas-run territory.
Gaza rescuers said at least 10 more people were killed in a pre-dawn bombing near Khan Yunis on Thursday.
“Under our daily watch, people in Gaza are again & again going through their worst nightmare,” Lazzarini wrote, condemning an “endless unleashing of the most inhumane ordeals.”
The Israeli army said on Thursday it had banned traffic on the Palestinian territory’s main north-to-south artery. “Evacuation orders forcing people to flee were issued impacting tens of thousands of people,” Lazzarini said, adding that “the vast majority have been already displaced, treated like ‘pinballs’ since the war began nearly 1.5 years ago.” Israel’s renewed offensive shattered a relative calm in Gaza that had pervaded since a fragile truce took hold in mid-January.
The UNRWA chief also decried Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid entering Gaza which has been in place since early March.
“No time left, we need now: a renewal of the ceasefire, a dignified release of all the hostages in Gaza, an unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid & commercial supplies,” he said. The first stage of the Gaza ceasefire, which largely halted more than 15 months of fighting, expired early this month amid deadlock over next steps. Israel rejected negotiations for a promised second stage, calling instead for the return of all of its remaining hostages under an extended first stage. That would have meant delaying talks on a lasting ceasefire, and was rejected by Hamas as an attempt to renegotiate the original deal.
