As Gaza Starves, Israel Attacked UNRWA Food Distribution Center

JABALIYA REFUGEE CAMP, GAZA—It was just after sunset on Friday when an Israeli missile slammed into an UNRWA building in the middle of Jabaliya refugee camp in north Gaza, killing four people—including a child, according to eyewitnesses—and severely damaging a food distribution center, warehouse, and health center run by the UN refugee agency.

“The entire area was destroyed and turned to rubble,” Al Moatassem Shalayel, 20, who had left the area moments before, told Drop Site. Shalayel’s 45-year-old uncle, Ehab Abu Hussein, was killed in the bombing. “We’re gathering his belongings, like his prayer beads and his cap. His body was torn apart, but we want to keep any memory of him.” Shalayel lost multiple family members over the course of the war. “I don’t have any uncles or aunts left now, only my grandmother,” he said.

Soon afterwards, the Israeli military spokesperson said they attacked Jabaliya using aerial surveillance and precision munitions.