Israel has accused the slain charity worker of making rockets for Palestinian militants
The Israeli army has said that a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) medic killed in Tuesday’s airstrike on Gaza City was in fact a “terrorist” working for Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Fadi Al-Wadiya served as an operative for the militant group for more than 15 years, and helped build rockets used against Israeli cities, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichay Adraee said. He added that Al-Wadiya was the armed group’s “expert in the fields of electronics and chemistry.”
On Wednesday, the IDF released a photo purportedly showing Al-Wadiya wearing the uniform of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. “A physiotherapist by day, a jihad operative by night,” Adraee said, arguing that the case is “a reminder of how terrorist organizations in Gaza use international aid organizations as a human shield.”
The charity has denied that its staffer was a terrorist, saying Al-Wadiya was killed when riding a bicycle to the clinic where he worked.
“Killing a healthcare worker while on his way to provide vital medical care to wounded victims of the endless massacres across Gaza is beyond shocking; it’s cynical and abhorrent,” said Caroline Seguin, MSF operations manager for Palestine. The organization said five other people, including three children, were killed by the same airstrike.
Fadi was a 33-year-old physiotherapist and father of three. He joined MSF in 2018. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.Fadi’s loss marks the sixth killing of an MSF staff member in Gaza since 7 October 2023. pic.twitter.com/F98B3j7Qe8
— MSF International (@MSF) June 25, 2024
“Fadi was executed by an Israeli strike and no proof of any wrongdoing on his part has been shared with MSF. Only an independent investigation will be able to establish the facts,” the charity said in a statement on its website.
Al-Wadiya was the sixth member of MSF and one of more than 500 health workers killed by the Israeli forces since the fighting erupted in Gaza eight months ago, the organization said.
The current conflict was triggered by the October 7 surprise raid by Hamas and allied militant groups into southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted. Israel responded by blockading Gaza and carried out a bombing campaign that was followed by a ground invasion. Almost 38,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Hamas-run health authorities.
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