The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has accused Israeli forces of deliberately attacking its headquarters in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, killing one of its staff members and injuring three others.

The overnight strike, which occurred early Sunday, has intensified concerns over the safety of humanitarian workers in the besieged enclave. According to the PRCS, the facility—clearly marked with its protective red emblem—was struck multiple times, sparking a fire that engulfed the building.

“Shortly after midnight, Israeli artillery directly struck the upper floors,” the aid agency said in a statement. “As PRCS teams were evacuating staff and inspecting the damage, the second floor was hit again, followed by direct shelling of the ground floor—precisely while rescue teams were fighting the blaze caused by the bombing.”

The organisation identified the killed worker as Omar Isleem and expressed heartbreak over his death. Two other employees and a civilian who attempted to extinguish the fire were also injured.

Video footage released by the PRCS showed flames and thick smoke rising from the damaged structure, while photographs revealed bloodstains and debris inside the facility.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC it was reviewing the claim, stating that “uninvolved individuals in the Khan Younis area were harmed as a result of an IDF strike.” The military has not confirmed whether the PRCS headquarters was intentionally targeted.

The attack comes amid escalating concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry reported on Sunday that 104 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including 65 who were seeking aid.

Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said five people were killed and 30 injured near the northernmost aid distribution point operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The UN Human Rights Office expressed “deep shock and outrage over continued killings of emergency workers in Gaza” and renewed calls for an independent investigation into attacks on aid staff.

The PRCS said that since the war began, 51 of its staff and volunteers have been killed, including 29 who died while performing humanitarian duties.

Hunger and malnutrition continue to worsen in Gaza after 11 weeks of severe restrictions on aid. Although Israel has partially lifted its blockade, humanitarian groups warn that the flow of supplies remains insufficient.

The health ministry said six more people died from malnutrition on Sunday, bringing the war’s toll to 175 deaths from hunger, including 93 children.

Israel denies deliberately blocking aid, arguing that the UN and other agencies are failing to distribute it effectively. On Sunday, the IDF said it coordinated an airdrop of 136 aid packages with the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, France, Germany, and Belgium.

The ongoing conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led attacks killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages. Since then, the Gaza health ministry says 60,839 people have been killed across the enclave.

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