USAID contractor killed in Gaza airstrike, humanitarian group says

An Israeli airstrike killed a US Agency for International Development contractor in Gaza last month, his colleagues have alleged in a statement.

Hani Jnena, 33, was killed November 5 along with his wife, their 2-year-old and 4-year-old daughters, and her family, the US-based humanitarian group Global Communities says.

An internet-technology worker, Jnena had fled his neighborhood in Gaza City with his family to escape the airstrikes, only to be killed while sheltering with his in-laws, the group says. His employer was an on-the-ground partner for USAID, the US agency says.

The Washington Post first reported the death.

In a final message to a colleague, Jnena had written, “my daughters are terrified, and I am trying to keep them calm, but this bombing is terrifying,” Global Communities says.

USAID employees have been prominent in recent open letters by US government employees objecting to US policy in support of Israel’s continued offensive, including President Joe Biden’s decision not to join many other governments in calling for a ceasefire.