Brothers Delivering Water in Gaza for UNICEF Killed by Israel
Gaza City, Gaza — Mahmoud Abu Warda and his brother Eid Abu Warda, residents of Gaza City’s Jabalia al-Nazla, were killed by Israeli soldiers on April 17 while driving a water truck for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). They were on their way to fill up their water tankers at the entrance to the Shuja’iyya neighborhood when they were shot by Israeli soldiers.
UNICEF expressed outrage in a statement, called for accountability, and suspended its operations at the Mansoura water station. Unicorn Riot covered the funeral procession for the brothers and heard from a friend of the victims, Wissam Nasr.
“The martyrs were three brothers; one was injured and two were killed at the scene,” said Wissam Nasr, after the funeral for Mahmoud and Eid Abu Warda. “What happened was that the young martyrs were going to collect water for displaced people from a station near the Shuja’iyya neighborhood, a supposedly safe area. Unfortunately, the Israeli occupation, true to its treachery, opened fire on them and killed them. They were innocent civilians, bringing water to displaced people in the area.”
“We are supposed to be observing a ceasefire according to the agreements, but the Israeli army is not abiding by them,” said Nasr.
As of May 22, 2026, at least 883 Palestinians have been killed by Israel and at least 2,648 have been injured since the declaration of a ceasefire last October. A report published last week by Human Rights Watch noted that “the humanitarian infrastructure sustaining life in Gaza remains in peril” and that famine risk has returned to the Gaza Strip “as Board of Peace fails to deliver.”
In total, since Oct. 2023, Israel has killed at least 72,775 Palestinians in Gaza, with some estimates saying at least 75,000 were killed as of January 2025.
“This is a message to the entire world,” said Nasr to Unicorn Riot last month, “we are a people oppressed and suffering at the hands of the Israeli army, which kills innocent people from our community every day. We appeal to the entire world to protect the people of Gaza. The war, according to the agreement, has ended, or at least there is a ceasefire, but the Israeli army has not stopped firing. Every day there are violations of the truce, which was witnessed by the entire world, including Trump and the United States. There are daily violations of the truce, as the whole world sees. No one in the world can stop Israel.”
The brothers killed for delivering water to displaced Palestinians join the long list of humanitarian workers in Gaza that have been systematically targeted by Israel. In the last three years, at least 560 humanitarians have been killed in Palestinian territories.
In UNICEF’s statement on the killing of the water truck driving brothers, they note that “the protection of civilians and those delivering life-saving assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law.”
“UNICEF is outraged by the killing of two drivers of trucks contracted by UNICEF to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip.
The victims were killed by Israeli fire in an incident that took place early this morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza. UNICEF extends our condolences to the families of the men killed.
The incident, in which two other people were injured, occurred during routine, water trucking operations, with no changes in movement or procedures.
The Mansoura water filling point is currently the only operational truck filling point for the Mekorot water supply line serving Gaza City. UNICEF and humanitarian partners use it multiple times a day to sustain critical water trucking operations for hundreds of thousands of people, including children. UNICEF contractors have been instructed to suspend onsite activities until security conditions in the area are restored.
UNICEF calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately investigate this incident, and ensure full accountability. 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.”
Statement by UNICEF on the killing of two water truck drivers in the Gaza Strip
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