UN agency says 5 staffers killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza

Five staff members of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, the agency's chief said on Thursday.

“In the past few days, another five UNRWA staff have been confirmed killed, bringing the death toll to 284. They were teachers, doctors and nurses: serving the most vulnerable,” UNRWA Commission-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on X.

"We are fearing that the worst is yet to come given the ongoing ground invasion separating the north from the south," he added.

On Thursday, the Israeli army banned Palestinians from traveling through the Salah al-Din Street, a route designed by Tel Aviv for safe passage between northern Gaza and the south.

The army said the move was taken as its forces advanced in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza that separates the territory's north from the south.

The UNRWA chief said the evacuation orders issued by Israel for Palestinians in Gaza impact tens of thousands of people.

“The vast majority have been already displaced, treated like “pinballs” since the war began nearly 1.5 years ago,” he said.

“Under our daily watch, people in Gaza are again & again going through their worst nightmare. An endless unleashing of the most inhumane ordeals.

"No time left, we need now: a renewal of the ceasefire, a dignified release of all the hostages in Gaza, and an unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies," Lazzarini said.

More than 700 Palestinians were killed and over 900 others injured in a surprise aerial campaign by Israel on Gaza since Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.