UNRWA head official talks about his brother's death in Gaza

Hani Almadhoun, senior director of philanthropy for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), spoke with ABC News about why he believes his brother Mahmoud was killed in an Israeli airstrike and the agency's challenges in getting aid to the region.

Palestinian chef Mahmoud Almadhoun was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on Saturday, according to Hani. Hani Almadhoun reported that at approximately 9 a.m. on Saturday, the chef and his friend, Abu Tamer, were walking together when an Israeli drone struck directly beneath Mahmoud, fatally injuring him.

Hani told ABC News that his brother did not deserve to be killed. He was a humanitarian and had been preparing meals for the local hospital over the past 400 days. Hani emphasized that his brother did not deserve to be taken from them or his seven children.

ABC News sat down with Hani as he mourned the loss of his brother and aid challenges in Gaza.

ABC NEWS: The United Nations says the war in Gaza has led to a stark increase in the number of households experiencing severe hunger. Over the weekend, World Central Kitchen paused its operations after an airstrike on a vehicle killed some of its workers. The IDF said that it was targeting a terrorist who allegedly worked for the aid organization.

Seven World Central workers were killed in an April attack that Israel later called a mistake. The IDF has said in the past that it's committed to not harming civilians. Now, the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), is pausing delivery of aid through the main crossing into Gaza, saying it's too dangerous.

This comes as UNRWA's head of philanthropy says his brother, who ran a soup kitchen, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday morning. Hani Almadhoun joins us now. Hani, thank you so much and our condolences for the loss of your brother. Let's start out just by asking you about tell us about Mahmoud.

HANI ALMADHOUN: Mahmoud is my baby brother. He is 33 years old and he is, his birthday was around the corner at the end of this month and he was targeted in the north of Gaza. He does not deserve to be killed. He's a humanitarian.

He was cooking up meals for the local hospital and has been doing so for the last 400 days. And he did not deserve to be robbed from us and from his seven kids. He has been running the Gaza soup kitchen in the ground in north Gaza, doing a heroic work, delivering water, cooking meals and just giving people hope in north of Gaza, where the famine is too real.

ABC NEWS: As far as you know, what happened on the day he died?

ALMADHOUN: We have an eyewitness account. At 9 a.m. he left the house to go check up on Kamal Adwan Hospital where he is delivering produce that morning and then 30 yards outside the shelter he was targeted by an Israeli drone that killed him and only him. He is a full-time civilian.

He's my brother and he has been supporting the North, trying to help the community as they face this nightmare in Gaza. And he was, we believe he was targeted because he was helping people with food and water, which means they can stay in north of Gaza, an area that's been under complete siege and attacks for the last 60 days.

ABC NEWS: You also work for UNRWA, which paused aid through a main crossing because of security concerns. What dangers are you coming up against?

ALMADHOUN: Yeah. On behalf of UNRWA USA, where I work, this is the largest humanitarian actor. It is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza. Unfortunately, because of the conditions created in the ground by the Israeli military, humanitarian workers don't feel safe.

Not just physically attacked, but also the aid is being stolen by organized criminals that may have connections with the Israeli Army. This is wrong. People are not involved. They are civilians. They should not be put in this dangerous situation.

ABC NEWS: Your brother was a father of seven, as you mentioned. How are his children holding up?

ALMADHOUN: Well, his first son, Roma, has been injured three days before his dad. So he's recovering. He may lose sight of his eye and his groin, a groin area. So we're worried about. The daughter, as you know, are trying to make sense of this.

ABC NEWS: Israel's parliament voted in October to ban UNRWA from operating within Gaza and the West Bank, which will go into effect next year. How are you preparing for the possibility of this not being overturned by a higher court?

ALMADHOUN: This is a real challenge and a real concern. This is a short-sighted decision. UNRWA has been cleared by two, not by one, two independent UN investigations that say there is no evidence to support the Israeli claims. They've asked anybody with evidence to provide this.

Despite this, there is an organized and well orchestrated and deeply funded effort to damage UNRWA, to spread misinformation. Look, 60% of the aid in Gaza right now is being brought by UNRWA. There is no replacement for UNRWA and there is no other respectable NGO stepping up to say we can't do that job.

ABC NEWS: Can you give us a sense. We obviously see little snippets in the news of what life is like in Gaza right now. Just about how concerned you are for for the people who are there.

ALMADHOUN: So my parents are there. It's a struggle because they're in their 70s. My mom has to manage her diabetes. My dad is not OK in the mental space. We're concerned for him because he got hurt as well in a quadcopter attack.

There are no meat in Northern Gaza. There is no produce. There is a lot limitations. One banana in Gaza now brings $15. Can you imagine just one banana? A potato is, one potato is a $10. And this is because aid is not allowed in and there is destruction, intentional destruction and the aid delivery.

And it's not complicated. This is really the Israeli military control fully controls Gaza. They can get these organized criminals to stop. Somebody has to be held accountable for this. My parents do not deserve this treatment.

ABC NEWS: Hani Almadhoun, once again, we are so sorry for for your loss and all that you continue to endure. We should mention that we've reached out to the IDF for more information but have not heard back.