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National Post

At least five Gaza aid workers dead in 'heinous attack' by Hamas, some possibly taken hostage

Hamas attacked a bus carrying about two-dozen members of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation team at about 10 p.m. in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, with 'at least five fatalities, multiple injuries and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage,' the aid group stated. Article content The 'local Palestinians,' who were 'working side-by-side with the U.S. GHF team,' were on the way to one of the U.S.-backed aid group's distribution centers west of Khan Younis, the foundation said. Article content Article content Article content 'We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,' it stated. 'These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others.' Article content Article content 'Our hearts are broken and our thoughts and prayers are with every victim, every family and every person still unaccounted for,' the foundation said. Article content The group, which vowed to continue its mission 'to provide critical aid to the people of Gaza' despite the 'heinous attack,' stated that 'tonight, the world must see this for what it is: an attack on humanity.' Article content 'We call on the international community to immediately condemn Hamas for this unprovoked attack and continued threat against our people simply trying to feed the Palestinian people,' it said. Article content The group, which is independent of the United Nations and tries to deliver aid to Palestinians without Hamas stealing the supplies, has endured threats from the terror group before, it said. Article content Article content 'This attack did not happen in a vacuum,' it said. 'For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers, and the civilians who receive aid from us. These threats were met with silence.' Article content 'The GHF holds Hamas fully responsible for taking the lives of our dedicated workers, who have been distributing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people at the foundation's sites in central and southern Gaza,' it said. Article content Article content Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told JNS that 'we are monitoring closely concerning reports of Hamas once again doing whatever it can to thwart humanitarian distribution efforts.' Article content 'The Hamas terrorist regime has zero care for Israelis and, as we continue to see, has zero care for the people of Gaza,' the ambassador told JNS. 'It's why they launch terrorist attacks from urban settings and civilian infrastructure.'