New evidence links slain Belgian development worker to Hamas as Israel demands apolog
Israel has demanded an apology from the Belgian government after evidence surfaced linking a deceased Palestinian employee of the Belgian development agency Enabel to Hamas. The employee was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2024, leading to a diplomatic dispute between the two nations.
Why it matters
This incident underscores the complexities of international aid operations in conflict zones and the scrutiny placed on the affiliations of local staff working for foreign agencies.
Israel’s Embassy in Belgium has demanded an apology from the Belgian government after newly surfaced material appeared to link a Palestinian employee of Belgium’s development agency, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2024, to Hamas. Abdullah Jamal Sobhi Nabhan, a Palestinian employee of the Belgian development agency Enabel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah on April 24, 2024. His 7-year-old son Jamal, his father, his brother and his niece were also killed in the strike. At the time, Enabel said Nabhan had joined the agency in April 2020 and worked as a business development officer on a European project supporting small businesses in the Gaza Strip. Then-Belgian Development Minister Caroline Gennez and Enabel condemned the strike. Belgium’s then-foreign minister, Hadja Lahbib, summoned Israel’s ambassador at the time, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, and demanded explanations.
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