An Israeli airstrike killed a US Agency for International Development contractor in Gaza last month, his colleagues said in a statement on Saturday. The US development agency noted the death and urged greater protection for humanitarian workers in the fighting there. Hani Jnena, 33, was killed November 5 along with his wife, their 2-year-old and 4-year-old daughters, and her family, the US-based humanitarian group Global Communities said.

An internet-technology worker, Jnena had fled his neighbourhood in Gaza City with his family to escape the airstrikes, only to be killed while sheltering with his in-laws, the group said. His employer was an on-the-ground partner for USAID, the US agency said. The Washington Post first reported the death. In a final message to a colleague, Hani had written, 'my daughters are terrified, and I am trying to keep them calm, but this bombing is terrifying', Global Communities said.