Israeli attacks kill Oxfam partner colleague, destroy clinics in Gaza

Oxfam is deeply appalled and mourns the killing of Tasneem, 27, and her two children, Sham (5), and Suleiman (3), in an Israeli airstrike on 20 September. Tasneem was a psychologist at Oxfam's partner organization, Juzoor for Health and Community Development.

"Tasneem was a courageous and devoted humanitarian. Despite constant danger, she served those in desperate need to the end. Her death, along with her children, is a heartbreaking tragedy. This violence is destroying those who are trying to help. It is incomprehensible and it must end. Enough is enough," said Dr Umiayeh Khammash, Director of Juzoor.

Tasneem was pregnant when she died and had already lost her son Muslam in a previous attack last year. Tasneem's husband remains critically injured from the recent attack.

In the last three days, two other Oxfam partners also had their premises destroyed in indiscriminate attacks by Israel. On Monday, the offices of Oxfam partners, Al Ataa, a women's association which works to empower and protect vulnerable groups, and a Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) clinic were destroyed. On Wednesday, the PMRS administrative headquarters/ main medical centre building was destroyed by Israel, bringing the total number of PMRS centres destroyed to ten: nine in northern Gaza and one in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

PMRS had been treating thousands of people in northern Gaza every day, providing primary healthcare,services for pregnant women and other vulnerable people,women's health services, malnutrition clinics, psychosocial support, and specialist care in cardiology, endocrinology, pulmonology, nephrology, nutrition, and ophthalmology. The destruction of their final two centres in northern Gaza this week, along with the forced displacement of staff and patients, is a devastating blow to the communities already struggling with very few health services and living in genocide.

"We are overwhelmed with grief, sorrow, and a deep sense of injustice," said Dr Bassam Zaquot, PMRS Gaza Strip Manager. "In a single moment, the sacred and noble work carried out by our doctors and humanitarian workers was destroyed, our facilities completely wiped out. At the same time, we are forced to suspend the work of our mobile medical teams in Gaza out of fear for their lives. The deliberate destruction of the services we provide is a message of extermination that endangers everyone," Zaquot said.

Ruth James, Oxfam MENA's regional humanitarian coordinator in Gaza, said: "These are just some of the hundreds of attacks on aid workers killed in their homes or while doing their jobs during Israel's almost two-year onslaught on Gaza, each carried out with impunity.

"Our partners take incredible risks to deliver life-saving aid to Palestinians in Gaza whose suffering is unimaginable. The killing of aid workers and the destruction of vital humanitarian infrastructure, like clinics, are senseless and brutal, and ultimately mean thousands of Palestinians are less likely to get the support they desperately need," said James.

Several Oxfam partners have been attacked by Israel since the beginning of the war, killing partner colleagues or destroying critical humanitarian infrastructure. These incidents reflect a deeply disturbing pattern of attacks on aid workers and humanitarian facilities, reported with increasing regularity by humanitarian organizations in Gaza.

Intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza City threaten almost one million people with forced displacement into overcrowded and ill-equipped so-called 'humanitarian areas.' Aid workers must be able to respond to the unimaginable needs of Palestinians in Gaza without the constant threat of Israeli attacks.

"Aid workers must never be targets. Israel must be held accountable for the almost 1600 confirmed killings of aid and healthcare workers since the war began," added James.

"The international community must take urgent steps to end the genocide in Gaza by demanding a ceasefire, lifting the siege to allow critical aid into Gaza and ensuring all aid workers are protected so they can carry out their vital work without fear," said James.