OXFAM has condemned the killing of four water engineers who were on their way to repair water infrastructure in southern Gaza.
The organisation has said that the four men were travelling when their “clearly-marked vehicle” was bombed.
It said the people were working with Oxfam partner the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) and that they had cleared their movements with Israeli authorities before being killed in Khan Younis en route to reparation works on Saturday.
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Oxfam has since called for an independent investigation “into this and other attacks on essential workers”.
“We reiterate our calls for a ceasefire, an immediate halt to arms transfers to Israel and the international community to ensure Israel is held accountable for its continued assault on civilians and those working to deliver life-saving services,” the group said.
The National has reached out to the IDF for further comment.
Oxfam further added: “Their deaths deepen the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza where access to clean water is already severely compromised.
“Dozens of engineers, civil servants and humanitarian workers have been killed in Israeli airstrikes throughout this war.
“They were all working on essential services to keep Gaza’s fragile infrastructure running. Despite their movements being coordinated with the Israeli authorities by the CMWU and the Palestinian Water Authority, to ensure their safety, they were still targeted.
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“Attacks on civilian infrastructure and those who maintain it are clear violations of international humanitarian law.
“Those responsible must be held to account. Such attacks are part of the crime of using starvation as a weapon of war.”
It comes as officials in Gaza said that an Israeli airstrike which hit several houses and a multi-storey building caused the death of 73 people – a figure which the Israeli military has denied.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (above) also spoke with Keir Starmer after his house in Caesarea was hit by a drone.
He claimed it was an assassination attempt by Hezbollah although the group is yet to claim responsibility for this but did say it had carried out rocket attacks on northern and central Israel on Saturday.
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