UNICEF denounces killing of water truck drivers in Gaza

GAZA CITY: The UN children’s agency UNICEF said it was “outraged” after two truck drivers it ​contracted to deliver clean water to families in the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli fire.
The UN agency said in a statement the incident occurred during routine water truckingon Friday ‌morning at ‌the Mansoura water filling ​point ‌in ⁠northern ​Gaza, which ⁠supplies Gaza City. 
Two others were injured in the attack.

UNICEF said it had suspended activities at the site and called on Israeli authorities to investigate, stressing ⁠that humanitarian workers, civilians and ‌vital water ‌infrastructure must be protected under ​international humanitarian ‌law.
October’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas halted two years of full-scale war but ‌left Israeli troops in control of a depopulated zone that ⁠makes ⁠up well over half of Gaza, with Hamas in power in the remaining, narrow, coastal strip.
More than 750 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to local medics, while militants have killed four Israeli soldiers. Israel and Hamas have traded blame ​for ceasefire violations.
Medical sources in Gaza reported that the death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip had reached 72,549, with 172,274 injured, since the start of the assault on Oct. 7, 2023, 
They said on Saturday that hospitals in Gaza received the bodies of eighth slain Palestinians, along with 24 injuries, in the past 24 hours.
The number of fatalities since the ceasefire on Oct. 11 has surged to 773, with more than 2,171 injuries reported. 
The bodies of 761 Palestinians have been retrieved over the same period. 
Thousands of victims remain trapped under collapsed buildings or on the streets. 
However, emergency responders are struggling to reach them due to a lack of essential equipment for debris removal and rescue operations.