Responding to questions on the incident during the press briefing, Haq said at this point, “We are in the process of informing the relevant governments and the relevant family members, so I wouldn’t share any names or nationalities.”
He added that they were “international staff.”
Haq confirmed that “this is, in fact, the first international UN casualty.” While there have been international casualties involving workers for the World Central Kitchen in Gaza, Haq said that “of UN staff, I believe I’ve not been previously aware of an international casualty.”
Haq added that the vehicle was headed to the hospital “as part of their regular work, they go to different locations to assess security conditions. And this was the European hospital in Rafah.”
When asked for details about how their vehicle was struck, Haq said “This happened fairly recently. We’re still accumulating details.We expect to get reports, including from the relevant authorities.”
He added that close to around 190 UN personnel have been killed in Gaza since October 7, “most of them national staff of the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA.”
Haq added that the UN is “going to set up measures for accountability. A lot of that… requires ultimately for an end to the conflict so that we can work these out, but we will be working with the authorities on the ground to get a restitution for all of those who have been killed.”
Haq said he did not have the full details of whether the vehicle that was struck was part of a large convoy. “I believe it was in a convoy that was moving, and this was the DSS vehicle that was hit.”
Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, “We are devastated to learn about the death” of a UN humanitarian worker and injury of another in Gaza.
“Too many civilian and humanitarian lives have paid the price for this war. Ceasefire and work towards peace,” the WHO chief said.
In April, seven members of the World Central Kitchen were killed in an IDF strike in Gaza. One of those killed in the airstrike was Zomi Frankcom, who was of Indian descent, according to reports.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that between October 7, 2023, and May 12, 2024, at least 35,091 Palestinians have been killed and 78,827 injured in Gaza.
More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 33 children, have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel.