A Palestinian worker at the Belgian development agency Enabel and at least four members of his family, among them his 7-year-old son, were killed on the night of Wednesday to Thursday in an Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip, Enabel announced.

THE Belgian Foreign Minister Haja Labib denounced this bombing and announced that he would summon Israel’s ambassador to Brussels in order to “condemn this unacceptable action and demand an explanation”.

“The bombing of urban areas and populations is against international law“, Labib added in a message to X.

In February, the Israeli ambassador was summoned for explanations after tthe destruction of Enabel’s offices, in the bombing of a high-rise building where they were housed, in al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City. The offices were fortunately empty at the time.

This time the Israeli army is accused of targeting the house of Abdullah Nabhan in Rafah, where “about 25 people” were staying: members of the worker’s family as well as displaced people who had taken refuge there, according to a press release from the Belgian organization.

This Belgian service worker, age 33, was killed in the airstrike, as were his 7-year-old son, his 65-year-old father, his brother (age 35) and a 6-year-old niece. He has been working since April 2020 for Enabel in the Gaza Strip.

Nabhan’s wife was taken to hospital “in critical condition“, while two other children of the couple aged 7 months and 5 years were slightly injured, according to Enabel.

“I feel scandalized and shocked by the attacks that are being carried out. This is yet another flagrant violation by Israel of international humanitarian law,” commented Jan Van Vetter, director of Enabel.

Seven Belgian service workers remain trapped in the Gaza Strip, even if, like Nabhan, they are among the people who have expressed their desire to leave. The list of these persons had been given “months ago” to the Israeli authorities, Enabel complained.