WHO Halts Gaza Evacuations After Contractor Killed
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- WHO suspended medical evacuations from Gaza to Egypt via Rafah after a contractor — named locally as Majdi Aslan, 54 — was killed by Israeli troops on Monday, with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling it a "security incident" and confirming two WHO staff were present but uninjured
- Israel's military said troops "identified an unmarked vehicle approaching them and the Yellow Line, posing an immediate threat," fired warning shots, and opened fire again when the vehicle "continued to accelerate toward the troops"; the incident is under review
- A colleague of Aslan at al-Aqsa hospital, Raed Aslan, said the vehicle bore the WHO logo on all four sides and was leading a coordinated convoy transporting patients to Rafah when "the tank came out directly and targeted the driver"
- The Rafah crossing reopened in early February under October's ceasefire deal, was shut on 28 February when the US-Israeli war with Iran began, and reopened 20 days later; Cogat says roughly 1,150 people have crossed in each direction over the past two months
- More than 18,000 Palestinian patients are waiting to leave Gaza for treatment, according to local hospitals and the WHO, and regional director Hanan Balkhy warned the suspension is "cutting off a critical pathway to care for patients"
- At least 733 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the 10 October ceasefire began, per the territory's health ministry, while Israel reports five soldiers killed by Palestinian groups over the same period
Why it matters: With more than 18,000 Palestinian patients already waiting to leave Gaza for treatment, suspending the Rafah evacuation route directly blocks the main pathway to life-saving care. The conflicting accounts — Israel says the vehicle was unmarked and accelerating, a colleague says it bore WHO logos on all sides and was leading a coordinated patient convoy — raise urgent questions about how humanitarian vehicles are identified and protected near the Yellow Line.
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