KUALA LUMPUR: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has expressed condemnation following an Israeli airstrike that targeted an MSF shelter in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip.
The devastating attack led to the tragic death of a five-year-old daughter of one of the MSF staff members.
MSF reported that on the morning of Jan 8, a shell, reminiscent of tank artillery, breached the wall of a building in Khan Younis, situated in the southern region of the Gaza Strip, where more than 100 MSF staff and their families had sought refuge.
Subsequently, three individuals sustained minor injuries in the strike, while the critically wounded five-year-old girl underwent surgery at the Gaza European Hospital.
Nevertheless, despite medical efforts, she succumbed to her injuries the following day.
MSF Gaza project coordinator Thomas Lauvin said: "We are outraged and deeply saddened by the death of yet another family member of our MSF staff.
"This strike on civilians is unacceptable and, once again, goes to show that it doesn't matter where you are in Gaza, nowhere is safe.
"The shell did not detonate on impact, otherwise many more of our staff and their families would have most likely been killed," said Thomas.
Although MSF cannot definitively confirm the shell's origin, they hold the belief that it bears a striking resemblance to those commonly used by Israeli tanks.
MSF emphasised that prior to the strike, they had duly informed Israeli forces about the shelter's location near Gaza European Hospital, housing MSF staff and their families, yet received no evacuation orders before the attack.
Stressing the urgency of the situation, MSF has initiated contact with Israeli authorities, seeking comprehensive clarification regarding the circumstances leading to the strike.
"Four of MSF's staff have been killed since the beginning of the war in addition to numerous family members.
"We reiterate our call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza. Indiscriminate violence against civilians must end now."