Rafah, Gaza - Israel has been accused of firing on a clearly marked UN vehicle and killing an international staff member of the organization's security department.

UN chief António Guterres "was deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when their UN vehicle was struck as they traveled to the European Hospital in Rafah," deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.

It was "the first international casualty" for the UN since the start of the Israeli assault on Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack, Haq said, recalling that some 190 Palestinian UN employees have been killed, mainly staff of the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA).

"The Secretary-General condemns all attacks on UN personnel and calls for a full investigation," Haq said.

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The spokesperson did not immediately release the nationality of the person killed, but media reports named retired Anil Vaibhav Kale, a retired Indian army colonel, as the victim.

"I don't have the full details of whether this was part of a large convoy or not, I believe it was in a convoy that was moving, and this was the DSS vehicle that was hit," he said.

The DSS oversees the security of UN agencies and programs in more than 130 countries around the world.

Israeli officials did not claim responsibility for the airstrike and only said that the vehicle was in an "active combat zone" as it continues its attack on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are still sheltering.

Alongside UNRWA workers, Israel also killed seven foreign World Central Kitchen aid workers by repeatedly bombing their car at the beginning of April.