WHO Driver Killed, Medical Evacuations Suspended After Israeli Fire on Vehicle in Gaza

WHO Driver Killed, Medical Evacuations Suspended After Israeli Fire on Vehicle in Gaza
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A Palestinian driver working for the World Health Organization (WHO) was killed and several people wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on a vehicle associated with the UN agency in the southern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported.

Medical sources and eyewitnesses said Majdi Mustafa Aslan, 54, a driver from the al‑Bureij refugee camp, was shot and later died at Al‑Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al‑Balah after the incident in eastern Khan Younis. According to reports, Israeli forces fired at vehicles along Salah al‑Din Street, hitting a commercial vehicle and one carrying WHO personnel, injuring several others in addition to Aslan.

The World Health Organization confirmed a “critical security incident” occurred in Gaza and said investigations are underway, though it did not immediately confirm that the person killed was an employee. In a statement sent to media, WHO said that as a result of the incident, planned medical evacuations from Gaza through the Rafah crossing to Egypt have been suspended until further notice.

The suspension affects a process that had allowed critically injured Palestinians to be transported out of the besieged territory for urgent treatment. WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said two WHO staff were present during the incident but were not injured, and that authorities are reviewing the circumstances.

The situation in Gaza remains volatile despite a fragile ceasefire reached months earlier, with Palestinian health authorities reporting more than 700 deaths from Israeli fire since the agreement began.