GAZA CITY, Palestine 

Three municipal workers were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip, authorities said.

The three lost their lives in the strike that targeted their vehicle in the southern city of Khan Younis, the Abasan al-Kabira Municipality said in a statement.

According to the statement, the targeted vehicle was marked with the logos of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility.

This assassination "adds to the crimes of genocide committed by the Israeli army in clear violation of international law, which guarantees freedom of action for water and sanitation service employees even during wartime," it said.

The municipality appealed to the international community to “ensure the protection of municipal employees under international humanitarian law.”

The Israeli army has launched a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza since Tuesday, killing more than 700 Palestinians, injuring over 1,200 others, and shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 113,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.