IDF: UN employee killed earlier today in Rafah was in combat zone; doesn’t say its troops were responsible

The Israeli military responds to the death of a United Nations employee and the injury of another in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Monday, saying that the pair were hit in an active combat zone, but further details are under investigation.

In response to a query, the IDF says that it received reports that two members of the UN Department of Safety and Security were hit while driving in the Rafah area. According to a UN spokesman, the pair were driving to the European Hospital in southern Gaza when one of the staffers was killed.

The IDF says that according to an initial review, the UN vehicle was hit “amid fighting in an area defined as an active combat zone.”

It says that the vehicle’s route was unknown to the military. Normally, the IDF is made aware of aid workers’ movement in Gaza to avoid such incidents.

Still, the IDF does not confirm its forces fired at the vehicle.

“All of the details of the incident are under review,” the military adds.