Two civilian contractors delivering water for the UN children’s fund were shot dead by Israeli troops in northern Gaza, UNICEF said on Saturday, expressing fury over the deaths the previous day.
The outrage came as the Israel Defense Forces said that in two separate incidents, troops had killed two other Palestinians on Saturday, whom it identified as terror operatives who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line.
UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, said in a statement that it was “outraged by the killing” of the two truck drivers contracted by the organization “to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip.”
Contacted by AFP, the IDF said troops saw “two armed terrorists in the area of the Yellow Line” — which marks the boundary of the area under Israeli control — approaching, so they “opened fire.”
The army said the incident was “under review.”
UNICEF said the incident took place at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza, which is “the only operational truck filling point for the Mekorot water supply line serving Gaza City.”
“The incident, in which two other people were injured, occurred during routine water trucking operations, with no changes in movement or procedures,” it said, adding that the point was used “multiple times a day” by UNICEF and its humanitarian partners.
Following the incident, all activities at the filling point had been suspended, it said, urging the Israeli authorities to “immediately investigate” the incident and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
“Humanitarian workers, essential service providers and civilian infrastructure, including critical water facilities, must never be targeted.
The protection of civilians and those delivering life-saving assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law,” UNICEF said.
Separately on Saturday, the IDF said it killed two Palestinian terror operatives who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line.
The IDF said that reservists of the 205th “Iron Fist” Armored Brigade, operating in the Strip’s north, and Negev Brigade, stationed in southern Gaza, “identified two terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”
In both cases, the troops “eliminated the terrorists to remove the threat,” the IDF said.
בשני אירועים מוקדם יותר היום, כוחות צוות הקרב של חטיבת ‘אגרוף הברזל’ (205) הפועלים בצפון רצועת עזה וכוחות צוות הקרב של חטיבת ‘הנגב’ (12) הפועלים בדרום רצועת עזה, זיהו שני מחבלים שחצו את הקו הצהוב והתקרבו לכוחות באופן שהיווה איום מיידי.
מיד לאחר הזיהוי, הכוחות חיסלו את המחבלים… pic.twitter.com/9NT5VazwyI
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 18, 2026
Earlier on Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that 72,549 people have been killed in the Palestinian enclave since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, sparked by the terror group’s bloody invasion and massacre in southern Israel.
The toll did not differentiate between combatants and civilians, and included the 773 people that the Hamas-run ministry says have been killed since a ceasefire came into effect on October 10, 2025.
The Israeli military believes that Hamas’s overall toll is largely accurate, with IDF officials estimating that two to three civilians were killed for every dead terror operative.
The IDF says it has killed over 23,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 477. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
Five IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.
Source:
www.timesofisrael.com
