Israel abducts a United Nations employee

According to a Friday night report by the Gaza Herald, the Israeli military detained Raed al-Afifi, a Palestinian employee of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), while he was crossing the Kerem Shalom checkpoint in southern Gaza.

This took place despite the fact that al-Afifi held a United Nations passport and had an entry permit fully coordinated with Tel Aviv.

According to the report, Israeli forces abducted al-Afifi and forcibly disappeared him; since then, neither his family nor UN staff have had any information about his whereabouts or physical condition.

This incident comes as Tel Aviv continues to keep Gaza’s border crossings closed to Palestinians, foreign delegations, and UN-affiliated organizations—only allowing passage in limited cases and without public disclosure.