At least 53 people, including a Doctors Without Borders MSF medic, were killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza on Thursday.
Omar Al Hayek, 42, was among the victims. He had been waiting for a bus to transport medical staff to a healthcare centre when the group was targeted.
“We just lost one of our colleagues and four others of our colleagues were injured in an air strike,” Claire Magone, General Director of MSF France, told The National.
"Our teams were just waiting for the MSF bus to take them to the hospital," she said. "They were hit while waiting in what should have been a safe space.
“That's the daily reality of Gaza today.”
MSF has condemned the strikes, calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to what it describes as a "genocide" against Palestinians.
"Nowhere in Gaza is safe," the organisation said in a statement, urging the international community to intervene. "The entire population has been starved and besieged for almost two years. It is time for the bloodshed to stop."
"Every loss of a medical worker is a tragedy for their families, colleagues, and the people they will never be able to help," World Health Organisation director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
"The attacks on health MUST STOP. Ceasefire!" he added.
Al Hayek’s killing follows the death of another colleague, Hussein Alnajjar, just two weeks ago. Mr Al Hayek had been working in Gaza since June 2018, providing life-saving care to thousands.
"We express deep sorrow and outrage over the killing, which occurs less than two weeks after another MSF colleague, Hussein Alnajjar, was killed by the Israeli forces in Deir Al Balah," MSF said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with Omar’s family and colleagues at this tragic time. Omar, 42 years old, is the 14th MSF colleague to be killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
“He was a quiet man of profound kindness and utter professionalism,” Magone said, adding that Al Hayek was the sole provider for his family. “This is the daily reality of Gaza today – where healthcare workers, even those in clearly marked uniforms, are not safe.”
The attack on the MSF staff occurred amid continuing Israeli air strikes that also claimed the lives of Palestinian civilians. According to medical sources, at least 13 bodies were brought to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, with others transported to different medical facilities throughout Gaza. Among the dead was a child killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Al Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza city, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
In southern Gaza, a drone strike on a tent in Al Mawasi injured eight people. Despite promises of safety, those displaced by the violence are not immune from attack, as the entire city remains under siege. Health workers, many of whom have been injured or killed, are caught in the crossfire of the continuing conflict.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 66,200 Palestinians have been killed. The scale of destruction is immense, and medical personnel on the front lines have become primary targets.
