Hamas kills a Muslim aid worker from a US-based charity, then calls for a ceasefire to ensure its survival

Image: Jihad Watch

CAIRO, Egypt — Gunmen in the Gaza Strip shot and killed an aid worker from a US-based charity, firing upon her vehicle in what Hamas officials reportedly told her family was a case of mistaken identity, according to Reuters on Friday.

However, anti-Hamas Palestinian activists cited by the Walla news site claimed that Hamas gunmen killed her for refusing to hand over aid funds to the group.

Islam Hejazy, the Gaza program manager at HEAL Palestine, was in a car intercepted on Thursday in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza. Witnesses and her family reported that gunmen in three vehicles opened fire, unleashing dozens of bullets at her car.

“She was a mother of two young children and a humanitarian known for her integrity and professionalism,” HEAL Palestine stated on its Facebook page. “In her honor, HEAL Palestine is more committed than ever to serving Gaza. Ceasefire now,” it added.

Her family released a statement on Friday, saying they were informed by officials at the hospital where her body was taken that her death was a mistake. They claimed that her attackers had failed to properly identify her vehicle.

Later on Friday, the Hamas-run interior ministry announced it had begun an investigation into Hejazy’s death, labeling it an “accident,” though it provided no additional details.

“That was a bigger shock… How could an innocent life be taken, with 90 bullets fired at her car, just due to mistaken identification?” the family expressed in a statement shared by Palestinian media.