Explosions at a UN guesthouse in Gaza in late March, which killed one UN worker and severely wounded five others, were likely caused by two IDF shells, The Washington Post claimed Sunday, despite the IDF denying their findings.
The IDF told the Washington Post that it did not strike the guesthouse and added that the publication should “act with caution regarding unverified reports.”
The IDF told the Post in March that the aid workers were injured during the process of clearing landmines, not in an airstrike.
On March 19, employees from the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) arrived at a guesthouse in Deir al-Balah to examine potential damage to the roof of the structure. As UNOPS workers finished their work around midday, a shell burst in the air, killing Bulgarian aid worker Marin Marinov, 51, and injuring five other employees.
Minutes later, another shell went through the wall of the second-floor exterior wall and exploded inside the house, two UN staffers and a third person knowledgeable on the matter told the American publication.
What was in the Washington Post report?
Videos posted by the Associated Press show a person lying on the patio of the house in a pool of blood through broken trees and utility poles around the perimeter of the house as people yell at each other to call for an ambulance.
The Washington Post had three munitions experts review the AP footage of the strike along with several photos. The publication noted in its investigation that it was not allowed to publish the photos it reviewed.
The three experts said that the photos they were shown were consistent with two Israeli tank rounds. They said that a munitions round likely exploded outside, near the patio where the workers were sitting, based on the circular indentations on the house.
The experts cited by the Washington Post, including two former artillery officers for the British and American armies and one munitions researcher, added that photos from the interior of the guesthouse show an entry hole and a similar fragmentation pattern to the indents on the exterior.
The Washington Post reported that the indentations on the building were likely from an IDF M339 high-explosive, multipurpose round. The experts said that green fragments from the footage indicate the use of at least one M339 round.
The shells are exclusively used by the IDF in Gaza, and green fragments that experts attributed to the IDF M339 rounds were seen in the obtained pictures.
The shell can be fired from either Merkava III and IV IDF tanks from up to three miles away, the Washington Post reported.
CNN had previously reported similar findings about the fragments at the scene were consistent with the M339 tank shell, citing two of the experts from the Washington Post report.
.@Easybakeovensz and @RogueAdventurer said weapon fragments from the scene are consistent with the M339, an Israeli tank projectile. Coordinates for the UN guesthouse in Deir al-Balah: 31°24'03"N 34°20'07"E https://t.co/YBYN9dvMMw pic.twitter.com/HlVRkSpu7b
— Gianluca Mezzofiore (@GianlucaMezzo) March 19, 2025
William Goodhind, a geospatial analyst at Contested Ground, told the Washington Post that IDF tanks were positioned approximately two miles from the guesthouse near the Israeli border on March 19.
The report, citing Breaking the Silence, said that if the IDF had used an M339 shell, it was likely to target someone within the house.
According to its social media pages, "Breaking the Silence is an Israeli veterans' organization aimed at raising awareness to the dire consequences of prolonged military occupation."
In the report, UN staff members noted that they considered their guesthouse to be safe. It was often used to house senior UN officials and had become a central location for organizing aid efforts in other areas of the Gaza Strip.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric blamed Israel for the incident during a press briefing on March 24 and called for an investigation into the incident:
"I think that's one of the reasons we need to have a pretty clear and transparent investigation. The point is that the Israelis knew exactly where this UN facility was, and it was hit by a shell from one of their tanks.
“We need to see accountability for those who took the decision, whether it was deliberate targeting, whether it was miscommunication, but there needs to be accountability."
In the briefing, he told reporters that the UN would be temporarily reducing its footprint in Gaza because of the incident and because of the IDF's return to combat in the Gaza Strip.
"What we're doing is reducing the number of international staff members by about one-third this week, maybe a bit more likely to come. It's a temporary measure. We hope to have people return to Gaza as soon as practicable," he said.
The Washington Post reported that Marinov was the second UNPOS employee to be killed during the Israel-Hamas War, making him one of some 280 aid workers killed, according to UN data.
Marinov's body was returned to Bulgaria for his funeral. He was buried on March 30 in Yambol.
