Two men fishing in the waters off the coast of the Gaza Strip were killed Wednesday by Israeli troops firing at them with automatic weapons, James Elder, the global spokesperson for the United Nations’ children’s agency UNICEF, told CBS News.

Elder said he was in a truck attempting to deliver food and medical supplies for 10,000 children in northern Gaza when his team was stopped at an Israeli checkpoint. From his position, he said he could see about 10 men fishing with a single net in knee-deep water. “I was standing outside the vehicle and suddenly saw a tank coming and then firing, and saw those two men seek to run from their fishing spot and then hit the sand,” Elder said.

Elder said he heard the sound of an automatic weapon coming from near the tank before the men fell. He said his group eventually made contact with the military and that some of the fishermen who fled the shooting were able to return to the beach to retrieve the bodies of those who were killed.