An Israeli government spokesperson said suggestions that the IDF targets aid workers are “blood libel,” after a Labour MP called for investigations into attacks leading to their deaths.
Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East and North Africa, said on social media that “aid workers need protection and must never be targeted”.
The MP for Lincoln then added: “Following Israel’s admission of responsibility for recent strikes on UN premises in Gaza, it must investigate all attacks that have killed aid workers, hold those responsible to account, and ensure this never happens again.”
It came after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) admitted its troops were behind the attack on a UN guest house in Gaza last month, killing one staff member. It had previously denied responsibility.
Responding to Mr Falconer, the spokesperson of the Israeli Foreign Ministry denied that the IDF had targeted aid workers, and accused those who suggested it of “blood libel” – a term used in the Middle Ages to describe antisemitic false claims that Jews carried out the ritualised murder of children.
“Israel never targets aid workers,” Oren Marmorstein said. “Israel targets terrorists only, and any other suggestion is pure blood libel and must be retracted.”
The spokesperson then said Israel “investigates itself transparently in events where aid workers are tragically hurt,” saying the IDF “did not shy away from taking responsibility” for the attack on the UN building.
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Mr Marmorstein then advised Mr Falconer to look into investigations into cases where the UK was responsible for the death of civilians during armed conflicts, adding: “We hope that the level of accountability would match that of Israel.”
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On 19 March, a building in Deir al Balah belonging to the UN’s Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was attacked, killing a Bulgarian staff member and injuring six other international workers.
The UN said the building was fired on by an Israeli tank, which the IDF initially denied.
However, on 24 April, the Israeli military admitted it fired on the building “due to assessed enemy presence and was not identified by the forces as a UN facility”.
UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva said at the time that Israel knew the location of the building and who was working there. He then claimed: “This was not an accident.”
Read more:
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Sky News understands that the IDF had been previously informed that the building belonged to the UN, and that this is being investigated by the IDF.
Sky News also reported last month that attacks on aid workers had risen to the highest level in almost a year.
