Humanity & Inclusion's office in Gaza City destroyed

Silver Spring, Maryland — Humanity & Inclusion's office located in the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, was destroyed in a bombing strike on January 31, 2024.

The building is completely destroyed. No HI staff were present, but we do not have information about potential other victims in the surrounding areas. No alert or warning was given to HI, even though the coordinates of the building were duly communicated to the notification system put in place by the United Nations and Israeli forces to avoid the inadvertent targeting of humanitarian premises. 

The priority of our organization is ensuring the safety and well-being of our staff and volunteers in Gaza, as well as being able to provide assistance to civilians affected by the conflict.

“There is no reason why a building for humanitarian staff should be destroyed,” says Jeff Meer, U.S. Executive Director for Humanity & Inclusion. “Humanitarian aid agencies, workers and volunteers are part of the vital structure keeping Palestinians alive.”   

Since October 7, at least 26,751 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and some 65,636 injured by the ongoing bombardment by Israeli forces. The Israeli retaliation follows the Hamas attacks on October 7, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 240 Israelis and foreigners hostage. 

We are calling on the parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law. They must ensure the protection of civilians or civilian objects. They must ensure the provision of rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance. Medical and humanitarian workers and infrastructure must be protected.  

“We are deeply concerned about the pattern of the past months of destroying civilian buildings where NGOs have their offices, schools or civilian houses. It’s again the demonstration that nowhere in Gaza is safe. This must stop, and an immediate, long-lasting ceasefire is the only solution," says Federico Dessi, HI's Regional Director in the Middle East. 

HI firmly and loudly asks to stop the use of explosive weapons in Gaza, as they have a systematic indiscriminate impact on civilians and threaten access to essential services for hundreds of thousands of people, including shelter, water, electricity, and humanitarian assistance. It also impedes the ability of humanitarian aid agencies to respond adequately and quickly to the vast and growing needs of civilians.

More information on Humanity & Inclusion's current and past actions in Palestine is available here. 

Available for media interviews:

• Federico Dessi, HI's Regional Director in the Middle East
• Jeff Meer, HI's U.S. Executive Director

Please direct media inquiries to Elizabeth Johnson Sellers at [email protected] or 270-847-3443.