The World Food Programme (WFP) has paused its employees’ movement in the Gaza Strip. This suspension will last “until further notice.” This pause follows an incident where gunfire hit one of its vehicles. Specifically, the vehicle was struck just meters from an Israeli-controlled checkpoint.
The incident took place on Tuesday night as the vehicle was approaching the Wadi Gaza Bridge checkpoint.
The WFP said in a statement that “None of the employees onboard were physically harmed,”
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric blamed Israel for the attack. Specifically, he told reporters in New York that Israeli gunfire struck the “clearly marked” humanitarian vehicle 10 times. Additionally, the bullets included some that targeted the front windows.
Five of the bullets were on the driver’s side and some on the windscreen.
The team was returning from a mission to Karem Abu Salem, which Israelis call Kerem Shalom. They were traveling with two WFP armoured vehicles. In addition, they had just escorted a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian cargo. The convoy was en route to Gaza’s central area.
Dujarric said that the Israeli military had coordinated the convoy’s movements and granted it clearance to approach.
WFP Demands Action After Gaza Coordination Failure
“This is the latest incident to underscore that systems in place for coordination are not working,” he said. He added, “We will continue to work with the IDF to ensure that incidents like that do not happen again.”
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain described the attack as “unacceptable.” Furthermore, she said it was “the latest in a series of unnecessary incidents” that have endangered the lives of her team members in Gaza.
“As last night’s events show, the current deconfliction system is failing and this cannot go on any longer,” she added.
The WFP called on Israeli authorities and all parties to the conflict to ensure the safety and security of all aid workers in Gaza.
It added that, although the WFP team has faced other security incidents during the war, this is the first time that gunfire directly hit one of its vehicles near a checkpoint. Moreover, this occurred despite securing the necessary clearances as per standard protocol.
This news is sourced from Aljazeera and is intended for informational purposes only.
