DUBAI: An Israeli missile hit a convoy carrying medical supplies and fuel to an Emirati hospital in the Gaza Strip, killing several people from a local transportation company, the American Near East Refugee Aid group said Friday. Israel claimed without immediate evidence that it opened fire after gunmen seized the convoy.
The strike killed several people employed by a transportation company that the aid group was using to bring supplies to the Emirates Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah, said Sandra Rasheed, Anera’s director for the Palestinian territories.
The strike happened Thursday on the Salah Al-Din Road in the Gaza Strip and hit the convoy’s first vehicle.
“The convoy, which was coordinated by Anera and approved by Israeli authorities, included an Anera employee who was fortunately unharmed,” Rasheed said in a statement. “Despite this devastating incident, our understanding is that the remaining vehicles in the convoy were able to continue and successfully deliver the aid to the hospital. We are urgently seeking further details about what happened.”
Anera planned to release more information later Friday.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday from The Associated Press. However, Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee posted to the social platform X that “gunmen seized a car at the head of the convoy (a jeep) and began driving.”
“After the seizure operation and after confirming the possibility of attacking the militants’ vehicle alone, the raid was carried out, as the rest of the convoy vehicles were not harmed and reached their target according to the plan,” Adraee wrote. “The operation to target the militants removed the risk of seizing the humanitarian convoy.”
He added: “The presence of armed men inside a humanitarian convoy in an uncoordinated manner makes it difficult to secure the convoys and their staff and harms the humanitarian effort.”
The United Arab Emirates, which reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020 and has been providing aid to Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
Israeli forces have opened fire on other aid convoys in the Gaza Strip. The World Food Program announced Wednesday it is pausing all staff movement in Gaza until further notice over Israeli troops opening fire on one of its marked vehicles, hitting it with at least 10 rounds. The shooting came despite having received multiple clearances from Israeli authorities.
On July 23, UNICEF said two of its vehicles were hit with live ammunition while waiting at a designated holding point. An Israeli attack in April hit three World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven people.
Aid group says Israel hit convoy to hospital in Gaza. Israel says it hit gunmen who seized the car
https://arab.news/r8q2t
Aid group says Israel hit convoy to hospital in Gaza. Israel says it hit gunmen who seized the car
- The strike killed several people employed by a transportation company that the aid group was using to bring supplies to the Emirates Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah
- Strike happened Thursday on the Salah Al-Din Road in the Gaza Strip and hit the convoy’s first vehicle
Israel police to deploy around Al-Aqsa for Ramadan, Palestinians report curbs
- The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week, as Palestinian officials accused Israel of imposing restrictions at the compound.
Over the course of the month of fasting and prayer, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa — Islam’s third-holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed.
Arad Braverman, a senior Jerusalem police officer, said forces would be deployed “day and night” across the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and in the surrounding area.
He said thousands of police would also be on duty for Friday prayers, which draw the largest crowds of Muslim worshippers.
Braverman said police had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.
He did not say whether age limits would apply, adding that the final number of people would be decided by the government.
The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a separate statement it had been informed that permits would again be restricted to men over 55 and women over 50, mirroring last year’s criteria.
It said Israeli authorities had blocked the Islamic Waqf — the Jordanian?run body administering the site — from carrying out routine preparations, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.
A Waqf source confirmed the restrictions and said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week before Ramadan.
The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint.
Under long?standing arrangements, Jews may visit the compound — which they revere as the site of their second temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD — but they are not permitted to pray there.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.
Braverman reiterated Monday that no changes were planned.
In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far?right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.
