Medical convoys from Gaza to Egypt have ground to a halt after a WHO worker was killed by Israeli soldiers. The organization calls for better protection of civilians and teams.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has suspended medical evacuations from the Gaza Strip to Egypt after one of its staff was killed in a “security incident”. Israel announced on Tuesday that its soldiers opened fire after facing a threat, TASR reports, according to an AFP report.
- The WHO suspended evacuations from Gaza to Egypt after the incident.
- A WHO employee was killed in a security incident in Gaza.
- Israeli soldiers opened fire on an unknown vehicle in Gaza.
- Evacuations will remain suspended until further notice.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Platform X late Monday that the organization “confirms that a contract worker in Gaza … has been killed during a security incident” and that the WHO is devastated by the news. The other two workers who were at the site were not injured, he added. The organization did not provide additional information, but noted that the incident “is being investigated by the relevant authorities.”
The incident is being investigated
The Israeli mission in Geneva wrote on the X social network that on Monday in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, “IDF soldiers observed an unmarked vehicle approaching them and posing an imminent threat” and emphasized that “the soldiers fired warning shots in response.”
“However, the vehicle continued to accelerate towards the units, who fired again and confirmed the hit,” she said in the post, clarifying that the incident is under investigation. Ghebreyesus said the WHO had suspended “the medical evacuation of patients from the Gaza Strip through Rafah to Egypt” that had been planned for Monday. According to him, these evacuations will remain suspended until further notice, calling for the “protection of civilians and humanitarian workers”.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas accuse each other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, 2025 in the Gaza Strip after two years of devastating war.
