Hamas ‘has killed staffers for US-backed aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has accused Hamas of killing five of its Palestinian staffers and possibly taking others hostage.

A Palestinian carries a bag containing food and humanitarian aid delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Picture: AP.

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is the only organisation distributing aid in Gaza, has accused Hamas of killing five of its staffers and possibly taking others hostage.

The organisation, which has replaced the UN in the Strip, said in a statement that around 10pm local time (4am AEST) “a bus carrying more than two dozen members of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation team … were brutally attacked by Hamas.”

“We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage,” the GHF said.

In an email to AFP the group said all the passengers on the bus were Palestinian and all were aid workers, who were en route to GHF’s distribution centre in the area west of Khan Younis.

“We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,” the group said. “These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others.”

The organisation recently accused Hamas of threatening its drivers and staff. The Times of Israel reports the militants’ threats forced GHF to close operations at its four sites on Saturday.

The privately funded aid group GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, aiming to prevent Hamas from stealing aid and selling it back to Palestinians to finance its war against Jerusalem.

While the plan was hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a key turning point in the conflict, the rollout has been marked by violence and disorder, with accusations the Israeli military shot into crowds of civilians attempting to pick up aid.

Israeli authorities and the GHF – which uses contracted US security – deny any such incident took place, and some Gazans said the shooting had come from Hamas militants, not the Israeli side.

Two weeks ago, as the first two distribution sites opened, Israeli media reported that Hamas had placed barriers to block access to the sites in the southern city of Rafah and falsely told Gazans Israelis were arresting residents near those areas.

The group also threatened Palestinians they would “pay the price” if they co-operated with the organisation, and told Palestinians to stay home, claiming Israel was using the company to collect intelligence information.

“Do not go to Rafah. Do not fall into the trap. Do not risk your lives. Your homes are your fortress. Staying in your neighbourhoods is survival, and awareness is your protection,” a statement published by the Hamas-linked Home Front said.

The US-based non-profit organisation Centre for Peace Communications last week released a video of a Gazan accusing the militant organisation of killing Palestinians at aid sites run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The man in the CPC video stresses: “No one has an interest in (carrying out) these attacks except Hamas.

“Hamas would rather we die of hunger than let the American aid distribution system succeed.”

The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to co-operate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.