US joins calls for 'full investigation' after UN vehicle fatally fired upon in Gaza

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US joined calls Tuesday for a "full investigation" into an attack on a UN vehicle in the besieged Gaza Strip that killed one UN staffer and injured another.

"Humanitarian workers must be protected as they continue their lifesaving work. We join calls for a full investigation into this incident," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on X.

The Israeli military said the vehicle that was struck Monday in Rafah in southern Gaza was in an “active combat zone," and said it was not able to confirm if Israeli forces had fired at the UN vehicle. Hamas accused Israel of firing on the car. Israel said it is investigating the shooting.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a "full investigation" into the shooting.

Photos and videos of the vehicle clearly show it was labeled as a UN car. Multiple bullet holes can be seen dotting its windows.

The shooting killed an international UN staff member employed by the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and injured another DSS worker.

Since Oct. 7, when Israel launched a devastating onslaught against Gaza with at least 171 UN staff killed, according to figures from the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).

A Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel that precipitated the current war killed about 1,200 people.

More than 35,180 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 79,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.