British bomb disposal expert injured in Gaza

A British bomb disposal expert has been injured in an attack on a UN facility in the Gaza Strip, the charity he works for has said.

The 51-year-old, who was not named, was one of five people injured in an explosion that also killed a UN worker at the facility in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday morning, the Mines Advisory Group said.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary general, told BBC Newshour a full investigation into the incident would be needed.

The Israeli military has denied reports it targeted the UN compound and has said the explosion was not caused by Israeli fire.

Israel said earlier it was resuming fighting in Gaza following a two-month ceasefire – launching a wave of strikes that killed more than 400 people, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The injured Briton is an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) expert who works for the Manchester-based mine clearance charity.

The charity’s chief executive, Darren Cormack, said the man had been conducting an explosive hazards assessment at a UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) building at the time of the incident.

He was initially taken to hospital in Gaza for treatment and has since been moved to a hospital in Israel, Mr Cormack said.

“The UN has confirmed that today’s incident did not occur in the course of normal EOD operations and resulted from ordnance being fired at or dropped on the building in which the team was working,” he added.

“It is shocking that a humanitarian facility should be subject to attacks of this nature and that humanitarian workers are being killed and injured in the line of duty,” he said. “Attacks against humanitarian premises are a breach of international law.”

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on X: “The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

“We emphasize that the initial examination found no connection to IDF activity whatsoever.”

Gaza’s health ministry blamed an Israeli strike for the attack.

The UN’s Farhan Haq told the BBC: “We are making it clear that all military operations have to be conducted in a way that ensures that all civilians are respected and protected.”

The head of the UNOPS, Jorge Moreira da Silva, said he believed the explosion was “not an accident”, adding that the situation in Gaza was “unconscionable”.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as captives.

Israel responded with a massive military offensive, which has killed more than 48,500 Palestinians, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says, and caused huge destruction to homes and infrastructure.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, called for “restraint” during a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday night.

“The Prime Minister underscored that he is deeply concerned by the return to fighting and urged for Israeli restraint,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.