At least one United Nations (UN) staff member has been killed and five others injured following an explosion at two UN guesthouses in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, on Wednesday, announced the UN. The UN confirmed the attack was not due to its personnel handling unexploded ordnance. The head of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Jorge Moreira da Silva, speaking in Brussels, stated that the premises were well known to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and had been “deconflicted,” meaning their location and purpose as a humanitarian site had been communicated to Israeli authorities. While the circumstances surrounding the explosion are still being verified, da Silva emphasized, “This was not an accident, this was an incident. What we do know is that an explosive ordnance was dropped or fired at the infrastructure and detonated inside the building.” However, he noted that it was unclear whether the attack involved air-dropped weapons, artillery, or rocket fire. The explosion follows a series of strikes near the UN buildings in previous days, with an attack on Tuesday causing some damage and a near-miss on Monday, said the UN. The UN buildings are…
