Israeli Minister Accuses British Official of “Blood Libel” Over Criticism of Israel’ Targeting of Gaza Aid Workers

London (Quds News Network)- An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused a British minister of “blood libel” for suggesting that Israel has deliberately targeted Palestinian aid workers in Gaza and must investigate all attacks that have resulted in their deaths in the war-torn enclave.

On Saturday, Hamish Falconer, a Labour MP and Britain’s minister for the Middle East and North Africa, wrote on X: “Aid workers need protection and must never be targeted.”

He added: “Following Israel’s admission of responsibility for recent strikes on UN premises in Gaza, it must investigate all attacks that have killed aid workers, hold those responsible to account, and ensure this never happens again.”

Hours later, Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, shared the British minister’s post and said: “Israel never targets aid workers. Israel targets terrorists only, and any other suggestion is pure blood libel and must be retracted.”

He advised Falconer “to examine the investigations and accountability measures in all cases where the UK was responsible for the death of civilians during armed conflicts. We hope that the level of accountability would match that of Israel”.

Earlier this week, the Israeli military admitted it had killed Marin Valev Marinov, a Bulgarian employee of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), with tank fire on March 18.

Marinov died in a UN compound in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Initially, the Israeli military claimed it had not attacked the site but, following an investigation, admitted on Thursday that its troops had killed Marinov.

The military said its troops had wrongly concluded that the UN building contained an “enemy presence”.

Falconer appeared to reference this attack in his statement on Saturday.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 400 aid workers in Gaza since 7 October 2023, accordingto the UN.