The Israeli military said it "was not informed of the vehicle's route", which was in an "ongoing combat zone".

In Geneva, UN spokesman Rolando Gomez said that "the UN informs the Israeli authorities of the movements of all its convoys", as "is the case in all theatres of operations".

"This is what happened yesterday [Monday] morning, so we kept them informed. It was a clearly identified UN vehicle," the spokesman said at a press conference, adding that this is a "clear illustration of the fact that, at this time, there is no safe place in Gaza".

Gomez also said that the person killed was an Indian national who worked for the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS). This was the first death of an international UN staff member in the Palestinian territory since the beginning of the war, on October 7, 2023.

According to the UN, another UNDSS staff member was also shot and injured. The source said that the vehicle was hit on its way to the European Hospital in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Contacted by the French news agency AFP, the Israeli military sent a statement that appeared to have been written on Monday, saying that the UNDSS had informed it of the facts.

"We are currently investigating the matter," the source added.

The UN spokesman in Geneva also said that UN Secretary-General António Guterres had "called for a full investigation" into the incident.

"We want those responsible to be held accountable. (...) International aid workers are not a target. These attacks must stop," he said.

Several Palestinian UN staff members have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, and the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has already reported that it has lost 188 of its 13,000 employees in the enclave.

The current conflict was triggered after an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in October 2023, which caused about 1,200 deaths and two hundred hostages, according to the Israeli authorities.

In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive that has already caused more than 35,000 deaths and 79,000 injuries, according to Hamas, which has controlled the Palestinian enclave since 2007.

The Israeli retaliation is causing a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with more than 1.1 million people in a "catastrophic hunger situation" that is already claiming victims - "the highest number ever recorded" by the UN in food security studies worldwide.

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