The United States has called on Israel to “immediately correct” its behaviour following the shooting of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy in the Gaza Strip. According to US diplomats, Israel has admitted its involvement in the incident, blaming it on a communication error between army units.
The Times of Israel writes about this.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stressed that humanitarian workers are in the conflict zone to help innocent civilians and that Israel must ensure their safety. US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood added that Israel informed Washington that a preliminary investigation into the incident showed that the shooting at the convoy was due to a misunderstanding.
In response to the incident, the UN temporarily suspended its movement through the Gaza Strip, saying that at least 10 bullets hit one of the convoy’s vehicles as it approached an Israeli military checkpoint on the Wadi Gaza Bridge. Fortunately, none of the convoy members were injured.
The Israeli military said the incident occurred when a group of armed men attempted to seize a vehicle leading a humanitarian convoy in southern Gaza. Despite the incident, the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories of Israel (COGAT) confirmed that all members of the humanitarian organization Anera, which participated in the delivery of aid, arrived safely at their destination.
The incident comes as the UN prepares for a campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip against polio. In response, the Israeli government agreed to local humanitarian truces to facilitate vaccination.
The incident marks yet another episode in a series of tensions surrounding humanitarian aid in Gaza. In early April, the Israeli military inadvertently attacked a World Central Kitchen aid convoy, resulting in the deaths of seven of the organization’s staff.
The Gaza conflict began on Oct. 7 after thousands of Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry puts the death toll in the strip at more than 40,000, though that figure does not account for differences between civilians and militants. Israeli forces say they have killed some 17,000 Hamas militants and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel since the conflict began.
Earlier, Kursor wrote that British lawyers for Israel had submitted a strict demand to the ICC Prosecutor General.
