The United Nations (UN) offered apologies to India over the killing of a former Indian Army officer who died in war-torn Rafah in Gaza from after his vehicle was attacked by shots from what the global body believes was an Israeli tank.
Colonel Waibhav Anil Kale, 46, who retired prematurely from the Indian Army in 2022, joined the world body as a Security Coordination Officer in the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) two months ago.
Waibhav Kale is the "first international casualty" for the world body since the Israel-Hamas conflict started last year.
Waibhav was killed while another DSS staffer from Jordan was injured when their UN-marked vehicle was struck when they were travelling to the European Hospital in war-torn Rafah in Gaza on Monday morning.
Kale had commanded the 11 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles in Kashmir.
“We also express our apologies and our condolences to the Government and people of India,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said at the daily press briefing on Tuesday in response to a question by news agency PTI.
“We appreciate the contribution that India has made,” he said.
Details Being Verified By With IDF
Haq said the UN has established a fact-finding panel to look into the deadly attack, adding that it is "very early in the investigation" and that details of the incident are still being verified with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), Haq said.
The fact-finding mission is being set up by the Department of Safety and Security.
Giving detains of the attack, Farhan Haq said that a weapon appears to have impacted the back of the white UN vehicle that was carrying the two UN staff members, Waibhav killing Kale and injuring the other DSS female staff member who is receiving medical attention and “we believe that she will make it through.”
“The deceased staff member has been identified. He is Waibhav Anil Kale of India, and we send our condolences to his family,” the PTI report quoted him as saying.
Farhan Haq also confirmed that this was the “first international casualty” for the UN in Gaza and added that currently, the world body has 71 international staff in Gaza.
Haq said there is little doubt about "where the shots came from as much as what the circumstances were". When asked if the UN is in contact with Israeli officials regarding the attack, Haq replied in the affirmative and said, “I think the point is we are in discussion with Israel to determine exactly how this incident happened and the nature of what happened."
"I don't think at this stage we are in doubt about where the shots came from as much as what the circumstances were,” he added. Haq said the UN believes the shots came from a tank in the area.
When asked that only the IDF have tanks in the region, Haq said, “I think that's a safe assumption to make, yes.”
