The UN food agency said it was suspending staff movements in the Gaza Strip “until further notice” after one of its vehicles was shot at an Israeli military checkpoint.
Cindy McCain, head of the World Food Programme (WFP), said of Tuesday's incident, “This is completely unacceptable and the latest in a series of unnecessary security incidents that have put the lives of WFP teams in Gaza at risk.”
“Last night's events demonstrate that the current collision avoidance system is failing and cannot continue.”
The WFP said in a statement that the vehicle was hit by at least 10 gunfire as it approached an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint at the Wadi Gaza bridge after completing a mission in southern Gaza. No one was injured.
“This is not the first security incident during the war, but it is the first time that a WFP vehicle has been subjected to direct fire close to a checkpoint, despite having the necessary authorization,” WFP said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident.
The news agency published photos of a white UN-marked truck that appeared to have been hit by several bullets and had damaged windows, and said the truck was “just a few metres” from an Israeli checkpoint at the time of the attack.
“A clearly marked UN humanitarian vehicle, part of a convoy working in full coordination with the IDF, was hit 10 times by IDF gunfire, including a bullet aimed at the front window,” UN secretary-general spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“We have no way of assessing the psychological state of those who are firing on us,” Dujarric said, noting it was unclear whether information about the convoy's movements had been passed on to Israeli authorities.
In May, an Indian-origin UN staff member was killed when his vehicle was hit by what the UN said was tank fire in southern Gaza.
The latest incident comes as the UN prepares to vaccinate an estimated 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip, where a 10-month-old baby was paralyzed by type 2 poliovirus, the first case in the strip in 25 years, according to the World Health Organization.
The current war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants stormed into Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israel's tally.
Since then, Israeli forces have destroyed large swaths of Palestinian territory, forcing almost all of the Palestinian population of 2.3 million from their homes and causing deadly hunger and disease that has killed at least 40,000 people, Palestinian health officials say.
The United Nations has long complained about the difficulties of getting aid to Gaza during the war and distributing it amid the “total lawlessness” there.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters
