U.N. says UNOPS staffer killed, five injured after strikes hit two UN guest houses in Gaza; investigation pending

A United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) staff member was killed and at least five other U.N. personnel were seriously injured after strikes hit two U.N. guest houses in Deir El Balla in Gaza, the U.N. spokesperson said at a press briefing. The spokesperson said the locations of U.N. premises are known to the parties to the conflict and “bound by international law to protect them and maintain their absolute inviolability.”

The U.N. spokesperson said the secretary-general “strongly condemns all attacks on U.N. personnel and calls for a full investigation.” He said humanitarian aid must reach all people in need, the ceasefire must be respected, and hostages must be released “immediately and unconditionally.” The briefing said the strike brings the number of U.N. colleagues killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, to at least 280.

The spokesperson said it was too early to determine who was responsible for the strike and that investigators are still trying to identify what caused the explosion. He said there was “some earlier confusion” about whether unexploded ordnance was involved and that it is now clear it was not unexploded ordnance. He described the incident as an explosion that remains under investigation.

The briefing said the U.N. premises hit had been damaged the previous night, and the accommodation was struck at about 11:30 a.m. local time while people were examining the earlier damage. The spokesperson confirmed that some members of a team that had been investigating the earlier incident were among the injured. He said one death is confirmed and at least one other person was in very critical condition.

On the circumstances of the sites, the spokesperson said the accommodations are used by staff who travel into Gaza to work and that those sites “were specifically deconflicted with the Israel Defense Forces,” meaning their locations had been shared with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to avoid attack, according to the briefing. He said the IDF has the GPS coordinates of U.N. homes and offices in Gaza.

The briefing also described broader humanitarian impacts: evacuation leaflets were dropped over multiple northern and eastern Gaza localities, prompting thousands to move; the closure of crossings into Gaza for humanitarian and other supplies has entered its 18th day, severely disrupting relief operations; distributions of food have been disrupted; about 30 community kitchens providing cooked meals were forced to close; and learning activities in 63 temporary learning spaces have been suspended.

Regarding reports of further casualties, the spokesperson said the U.N. is limited by the need to notify next of kin and national authorities before confirming names. He said the U.N. will provide more details as they become available and referred questions about responsibility to ongoing investigations. The spokesperson added that some of the personnel with the technical expertise to investigate are among the casualties or injured, complicating immediate determinations.

Virginia Gamba, the acting special adviser on the prevention of genocide, and Moe Bleecker, the special adviser on the responsibility to protect, were cited in the briefing as expressing deep concern and calling for protection of civilians and de-escalation. The U.N. reiterated that international humanitarian law must be respected at all times.

The U.N. called for a full, impartial investigation and for unfettered humanitarian access to Gaza, while warning that the current restrictions and intensified hostilities are producing “mass displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.”