United Nations — The head of the World Food Program said Wednesday that the agency is indefinitely suspending the movement of its staff in Gaza, after one of its teams came under repeated Israeli gunfire near a military checkpoint the previous day.
“This is totally unacceptable and the latest in a series of unnecessary security incidents that have endangered the lives of WFP’s team in Gaza,” Cindy McCain, WFP executive director, said in a statement.
“As last night’s events show, the current de-confliction system is failing, and this cannot go on any longer. I call on the Israeli authorities and all parties to the conflict to act immediately to ensure the safety and security of all aid workers in Gaza.”
The two WFP personnel inside the vehicle were unharmed.
There was no immediate explanation from the Israel Defense Forces about the incident.
A request for more information from VOA to the Israeli mission to the United Nations did not receive an immediate response.
WFP said a convoy of two clearly marked armored vehicles was returning from escorting a convoy of aid trucks when the incident occurred. The vehicle sustained the gunfire a few meters from an Israeli checkpoint at the Wadi Gaza bridge, between central and northern Gaza.
The agency said the armored vehicle sustained at least 10 bullets — five on the driver’s side, two on the passenger side and three to other parts of the vehicle.
Asked if the United Nations believed the IDF intentionally targeted the convoy, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that “we have no way to assess the mindset of those who are shooting at us.” But he said the movement of the convoy had been coordinated with the Israeli military.
“Whether the information was not passed down, whether it was deliberate, whether there was another reason — those are explanations we would like to get,” he said.
