The UN once again wanted to make known its dissatisfaction with the military actions carried out by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in its war against Hamas. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Monday accused the Israeli army of having fired on one of its convoys in Gaza the day before, “strongly” condemning a new “unacceptable event”.
The convoy of three “clearly” identified vehicles “came under fire from Israeli forces” near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, in the center of the Palestinian territory, “even though it had received all the necessary authorizations Israeli authorities,” the UN agency said. “Fortunately”, none of the eight people in the vehicles hit by 16 bullets were injured during this “terrifying” experience, she added.
Respect international humanitarian law
“This unacceptable event is the latest example of the complex and dangerous working environment in which WFP and other agencies operate today” in Gaza, where “security conditions urgently need to improve.” to allow the continuation of humanitarian operations,” insisted the WFP. The UN agency further called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid.
The Israeli army, for its part, indicated that it had received information concerning shots, the origin of which it did not specify, against the convoy. “The incident has been investigated, operational procedures have been clarified and the results of the investigation will be analyzed,” she added. Israeli forces “continue their operations against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and are doing everything possible to reduce the impact on civilians not involved,” she also assured.
Our file on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
This is not the first time that UN vehicles have been hit by fire since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, 2023. Last May notably, a UN employee of Indian nationality was killed when his vehicle was hit. And in August, the WFP had already accused Israeli forces of having fired on one of its vehicles, an incident which had pushed it to temporarily suspend the movements of its personnel in the Gaza Strip.
