Ex-Indian Army officer killed in Rafah strike

The UN confirmed on Tuesday that a staff member of DSS was killed and another was injured when their UN vehicle was “struck” in Rafah.

A former Indian Army officer working for the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) was killed when his vehicle was attacked at Rafah in the Gaza Strip, the first time an international staff member of the international agency has died since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Smoke billows during Israeli strikes in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP)

The UN confirmed on Tuesday that a staff member of DSS was killed and another was injured when their UN vehicle was “struck” as they were travelling to the European Hospital in Rafah on Monday. India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York, identified the victim as Colonel Waibhav Anil Kale (retd).

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Col Waibhav Kale, working for the UN Department of Safety and Security in Gaza. Our deepest condolences are with the family during this difficult time,” the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, New York, wrote on X. Condemning all attacks on UN personnel, secretary-general Antonio Guterres called for a full investigation.

Officials aware of the matter said Kale, 46, who was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, was commissioned into the 11th Battalion Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAKRIF) in June 2000 and was known be an outstanding officer who held a wide range of appointments during his 22 years in military service, the officials said, adding that he had taken an early retirement. He had begun working for DSS a short while ago, they said.

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said the UN was gathering information on the incident and confirmed that the security personnel killed was an international staff member, marking the first such UN death in the Gaza conflict.

“Of UN staff, I believe I’ve not been previously aware of an international casualty,” he said.

There was no immediate word from Indian officials on the development. The Indian side has called for an immediate end to the fighting, release of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 terror attacks last year, resumption of humanitarian aid, and a return to dialogue aimed at a two-state solution.

Without attributing responsibility for the strike, the Israeli military maintained that it had not been made aware of the route of the UN vehicle. “An initial inquiry conducted indicates that the vehicle was hit in an area declared an active combat zone,” the military told AFP, adding that it had “not been made aware of the route of the vehicle”.

Guterres said in a post on X that a UN vehicle “was struck in Gaza, killing one of our colleagues & injuring another”. More than 190 UN staff members have been killed in Gaza, he added.

“Humanitarian workers must be protected. I condemn all attacks on UN personnel and reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire & the release of all hostages,” Guterres said.

Haq said Guterres had called for a full investigation. “He sends his condolences to the family of the fallen staff member,” he added.

He said the UN vehicle was headed to the European Hospital in Rafah as part of the “regular work” of DSS staff going to different locations to assess security conditions.

Separately, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported another of its staff members was killed in the war, taking the total number to 188. The senior projects officer was killed on Sunday in an Israeli strike in the central town of Deir Al Balah, after leaving Rafah.

In April, seven volunteers of the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza. Among the dead was Zomi Frankcom, who was of Indian origin.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that between October 7, 2023 and May 12, 2024, at least 35,091 Palestinians have been killed and 78,827 injured during Israel’s operation against Hamas in Gaza.

The October 7 terror attacks by Hamas killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals.

HT has learnt that Kale commanded his battalion, 11 JAKRIF, in Punjab (Mamun and Dera Baba Nanak); served in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a UN peacekeeper; and was an instructor at the Infantry School in Mhow. He is survived by his wife Amrita and two children, who live in Nagpur.

Before joining NDA in 1996, he attended school in Nagpur. Before he left the army, Kale was the deputy commander of a counter-insurgency formation in Kishtwar for almost two years, said officials aware of the matter, adding that he worked with Amazon in Delhi for a year after taking early retirement.

“He was a competent and experienced officer who had served in conflict zones. He was also known for his sense of humour,” said one of the officials.