British bomb disposal expert injured in Gaza
A British bomb disposal expert was injured in an attack on a UN factory in the Gaza Strip, the charity he worked in said.
The 51-year-old, unnamed, was one of five injured in the bombing, which also killed a worker at the facility in Deir Al-Balah on Wednesday morning, the mining advisory panel said.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told the BBC Newshour that a comprehensive investigation of the incident is needed.
The Israeli military denied its reports on the United Compound and said the explosion was not caused by the Israeli fire.
According to Hamas on the Palestinian Territory – the Ministry of Operations of Health, Israel said earlier that it was resuming combat in Gaza – launching a wave of strikes that killed more than 400 people.
The injured British are experts in the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) working for Manchester’s mine clearance charity.
Darren Cormack, the charity’s chief executive, said the man had been conducting explosive hazard assessments in the United Nations Project Services (UNOPS) building at the time of the incident.
Cormack said he was initially taken to a hospital in Gaza for treatment and has since been moved to an Israeli hospital.
He added: “The United Nations has confirmed that today’s incident did not occur during normal EOD operations, but was caused by shooting or giving up ordnance on the building where the team worked.”
“It is shocking that humanitarian facilities should be attacked of this nature and that humanitarian workers are killed and injured in their duties,” he said. “Assaults against humanitarian premises are contrary to international law.”
“The situation of the incident is under investigation,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on X.
“We stressed that preliminary examinations found no connection to IDF activities.”
Gaza’s Ministry of Health blames the attack on Israel’s strike.
“We are clear that all military operations must be carried out in a way that ensures that all civilians are respected and protected,” Farhan Haq of the United Nations told the BBC.
UN Director Jorge Moreira da Silva said he believed the explosion was “not accidental”, adding that the situation in Gaza was “unreasonable”.
The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and bringing 251 back to Gaza as prisoners.
Gaza Hamas – Operations Ministry of Operations said Israel killed more than 48,500 Palestinians with a large-scale military offensive and caused great damage to homes and infrastructure.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for “restraint” during a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday night.
A spokesman for Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister stressed that he was deeply concerned about returning to fight and urging Israel to restrain him.”
