UN stated that a tank attack by Israel killed an Indian staff member in Gaza

The UN confirmed an Israeli tank attack killed Indian staff member Col. Waibhav Kale in Gaza, marking the first death of an international UN worker since the conflict began. Israel is reviewing the incident, but the UN insists the vehicle was marked and its route was pre-announced.

The United Nations has confirmed that an Israeli tank attack killed one of its staff members in Gaza this week. Col Waibhav Kale, a 46-year-old former Indian army officer serving in the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), was killed on Monday when the UN vehicle he was in was hit near the city of Rafah.

In a statement on Wednesday, the UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said: "The organization does not doubt that the shots fired from an Israeli tank hit the marked UN vehicle from behind. "Another staff member suffered physical harm in the accident.

"We are interested in the conditions in which this attack happened and are currently talking to the Israeli authorities. In addition, the UNDSS has started a fact-finding investigation into the incident," Haq said, further explaining that the UNDSS has initiated a fact-finding investigation into the incident.

This is the first death of a UN staff member from the international UN who was in Gaza since the October 2023 conflict started between Israel and Palestinian militants. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres was very sad about the death of Kale and sent his sympathy to his family.

The Israeli military announced that the incident is being investigated, but the first inquiry showed that the UN vehicle was hit in a combat zone, whose route was not communicated. Nevertheless, the UN said that the vehicles' movements were announced to the Israeli authorities beforehand.

Kale is an Indian born in the Maharashtra state, who has been in the Indian army for 22 years and recently joined UNDSS in Gaza just a few weeks after his 22 years of service in the Indian army. He could not think of anything better than to work in a place where people desperately need help, in the most dangerous place, at a time of unimaginable crisis, said Gilles Michaud, UN Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security.

Also Read: UN Worker Killed in Gaza While Israel-Gaza War Ensues

The situation has caused the people to get angry, and Kale's cousin has said that "he had nothing to do with Hamas or Israel or the war.  But he gave his life for peace.  Now, peace must be restored in Gaza.