NewsBelgium condemns deadly Israeli shelling in Gaza, summons ambassador

Belgium condemns deadly Israeli shelling in Gaza, summons ambassador

The late Abdallah Nahban

Images source: © Enabel

25 April 2024 18:48

A Belgian aid organization worker was killed in an Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip, Belgian authorities reported on Thursday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brussels has summoned the Israeli ambassador in response to this incident.

Belgian Development Minister Caroline Gennez stated that 33-year-old Abdallah Nahban, who worked for the Belgian development agency Enabel, supporting small businesses, and his seven-year-old son were killed in the shelling by the Israeli armed forces in the eastern part of Rafah city.

"An Enabel employee & his family have been killed in Gaza. We express our solidarity with his family & colleagues. Bombing civilian areas & populations is contrary to international law. I will summon the Israeli ambassador to condemn this unacceptable act & demand an explanation.," wrote Hadja Lahbib, the head of the Belgian Foreign Ministry, on the X platform.

According to Belgian authorities, the shelling of a building, which housed about 25 civilians, including refugees from other parts of the Gaza Strip, resulted in at least seven deaths.

Death of World Central Kitchen volunteers in Gaza

In early April, seven volunteers from the American humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) lost their lives in an Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip. WCK reported that the Israeli army attacked them.

This incident occurred as the organization was distributing food aid that had arrived in the Gaza Strip a few hours earlier by ship from Cyprus. Among the deceased were citizens of Australia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, as well as an individual with dual American-Canadian citizenship. A Palestinian driver was also among the victims.

Over 34,000 residents of Gaza killed

Since October 2023, marking the beginning of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, it is estimated that over 34,000 Palestinians have perished in the Gaza Strip.

"The indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians is contrary to international humanitarian law," Minister Gennez commented on Thursday.