[Jimbuna]

UN says worker killed in Gaza as Israeli air strikes resume

The UN says that one of its workers has been killed and others injured after a compound in Gaza was damaged on Wednesday, adding that the circumstances of the incident remain unclear.

The Palestinian territory's Hamas-run health ministry blamed an Israeli strike and said five critically injured foreign workers had arrived in hospital. Israel's military denied striking the UN compound in Deir al-Balah.

It comes after Israel said it was resuming fighting in Gaza following a two-month ceasefire - launching a wave of strikes that killed more than 400 people, according to Gaza's health ministry.

On Tuesday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it had "resumed combat in full force".

A day later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was extending ground operations in Gaza up to the Netzarim corridor, which divides the north and south of the strip.

Troops moved into the area "to create a partial buffer between northern and southern Gaza", the military added.

The UN initially said two of its workers had been killed but later clarified that the second person was not a staff member.

The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said an "explosive ordnance was dropped or fired" at the building, which was in an "isolated" location.

It added there was no confirmation on the nature of the incident or the type of artillery used.

UNOPS executive director Jorge Moreira da Silva described the incident as "not an accident" and added that "UN personnel and its premises must be protected by all sides".

In a statement, a spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres said two guesthouses were hit and called for a full investigation.

Footage verified by the BBC showed injured people - two still wearing blue UN flak jackets - arriving at a hospital in an ambulance and a UN car.

Separately, at least 20 people were killed in air strikes across Gaza overnight, after Israel said it was resuming fighting in the Palestinian territory.

Two civilians were killed and five others injured when an Israeli drone hit a tent near the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reports, citing Red Crescent medics.

Israel's army said it had targeted what it called a Hamas military site, from where the group was preparing to fire into Israel. Vessels controlled by Hamas were also hit, the army said.

The bombing is not of the same scale as it was on Tuesday - but it shows no let-up in Israel's fresh assault.

Tom Fletcher, the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, said of Tuesday's strikes that "the intensity of the killings is now off the scale".

Wafa says a woman and child were killed in an air strike north of Khan Younis overnight into Wednesday, while four others were killed in a strike in Gaza City.

Gaza's health ministry said that 436 people had been killed in strikes since Tuesday, including 183 children.

Tuesday's strikes constituted the heaviest bombardment since a fragile ceasefire and hostage exchange deal came into effect on 19 January, and came after Israel and Hamas failed to agree how to take it beyond an initial phase.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8mpl4mk4go