June 12 (UPI) -- At least five Palestinians working for the Israel-U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation were killed and several injured after Hamas gunmen allegedly opened fire on a bus bringing them to one of its distribution hubs in southern Gaza.
GHF said the workers were among at least two dozen aboard the bus Wednesday night when they were killed west of the town of Khan Younis and that it feared others had been abducted.
"We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage," GHF said in a statement.
"We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms," it said, adding that GHF personnel and civilians receiving aid had been repeatedly threatened in recent days.
Israel Defense Forces said the incident vindicated its warnings that Hamas was intent on maintaining its stranglehold on the distribution of aid in the territory.
