Israel attacks UN guesthouse, kills UN employee

Around midday, the IDF attacked a UN guesthouse in Deir al-Balah, resulting in 6 casualties among foreign employees of the UNMAS (United Nations Mine Action Service).

Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UNOPS stated the UN guesthouse in Deir al-Balah was frequently used by UN staff and its location was known to the IDF, being in an isolated area with no other buildings nearby. He emphasized that the site was repeatedly attacked amid Israeli strikes on Gaza: “Two days ago there was a near miss to this premises, and yesterday the premises was hit, and today there was another hit, unfortunately with these casualties”. “It cannot be categorized as an accident”.

While the IDF denied attacking the building, several experts confirmed evidence of Israel being the perpetrator:

• Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member confirmed weapon fragments from the scene are consistent with the Israeli M339 tank projectile. He also confirmed that the damage from the building is also consistent with idirect impact by a tank round.
• Nic Jenzen-Jones, director at Armament Research Services (ARES) who also analyzed the footage, said the “remnants appear to be from an Israeli 120 mm tank projectile, most likely the M339 multi-purpose model.”

Names of the victims:

• Marin Marinov – Killed
• Joel Fournet – Critically Injured
• Alexander Papan – Critically Injured
• Berthon Nicklaus – Severely Injured
• Arnold Neil – Severely Injured
• David Petron – Severely Injured