A World Health Organization (WHO) employee was killed and several others injured when Israeli forces opened fire on their vehicle in southern Gaza, according to medics and an Al Jazeera correspondent. The incident occurred in eastern Khan Younis, where the Israeli army shot at a commercial vehicle transporting civilians between southern and central Gaza, followed by a car carrying WHO employees.

Attack on WHO Vehicle

WHO driver Majdi Aslan, 54, was killed in the attack. A doctor from the international organization and several other Palestinians were also injured, according to sources at Nasser and Al-Aqsa hospitals in the enclave. Aslan was shot in the head and was pronounced dead upon arrival at Al-Aqsa Hospital. Seven or so others suffered injuries, according to Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, who reported from Gaza City.

The incident took place in an area close to the so-called yellow line in eastern Khan Younis, reported Mahmoud. Israeli forces shot ‘indiscriminately’ at people and vehicles moving along Salah al-Din Street in the southern Gaza Strip, he said. The vehicle was transporting civilians when it was followed by a car carrying WHO employees.

A commercial vehicle was transporting civilians between southern and central Gaza. It was followed by a car carrying WHO employees, said Mahmoud. The driver was shot in the head, and by the time he was transported to the Al-Aqsa Hospital, he was announced dead. Seven or so others suffered injuries, he added.

WHO Response and Evacuations

WHO did not immediately confirm that the man killed was an employee, but said in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera that ‘this morning, a critical security incident occurred in Gaza that is under review by relevant authorities.’ The statement added that ‘as a result of this critical security incident, today’s medical evacuation from Gaza via Rafah to Egypt has been put on hold with immediate effect, until further notice.’

WHO has been overseeing coordination between Egypt and Israel since the opening of the Rafah crossing, which has allowed small numbers of injured Palestinians desperate for medical aid to leave to seek treatment abroad. Israel, however, has continued to limit the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged territory, also shutting the vital crossing in the early days of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The attack on the WHO vehicle occurred amid ongoing Israeli strikes on Gaza, which have seen near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October, with more than 700 Palestinians killed since, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Other Attacks in Gaza

Elsewhere on Monday in the southern part of Khan Younis, a Palestinian man with special needs was killed after being shot by Israeli soldiers. To the north, a drone attack in Gaza City killed one person, Mahmoud said. The target was an electric bike moving in the area that was struck by drone missiles. It killed a 36-year-old individual who was moving around the displacement camps, he reported.

A child was also injured in the attack and is now in critical condition in hospital, the correspondent added. Two Palestinians were also killed in Israeli drone strikes on the Yarmouk and Shujayea neighbourhoods, according to a medical source at al-Shifa Hospital. Sources at Gaza hospitals have reported the deaths of eight Palestinians in Israeli air strikes outside areas under Israeli control since Sunday.

As the world’s attention remains fixed on the United States-Israel war on Iran, Israel is continuing its attacks on the Gaza Strip, with near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The attack on the WHO vehicle highlights the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region, with limited access to medical aid and increasing civilian casualties.