The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it was temporarily suspending travel by its staff in Gaza after one of its vehicles was hit by at least ten bullets just metres from an Israeli checkpoint on the Wadi Gaza bridge.
The suspension of these movements will be in effect “until further notice”, the World Food Programme said in a note.
The incident occurred on Tuesday evening, as a convoy carrying food was returning to the Kerem Shalom pass escorted by two WFP armoured vehicles.
Despite being “clearly identified” and having received approval from the Israeli authorities, one of these cars was attacked from the Israeli checkpoint, without any of its occupants being injured.
WFP says this is not the first incident they have suffered, but it is the first in which a programme vehicle has been directly attacked, and it is located next to a checkpoint, representing “a stark reminder” that violence “compromises our ability to provide life-saving care” in a context of increasingly restricted access and higher risks.
“This is totally unacceptable,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, “and is the latest in a series of security incidents that put the lives of our staff in Gaza at risk.”
McCain concluded that the current system of conflict mitigation (measures to ensure humanitarian work) is not working. He therefore called on “the Israeli authorities and all parties” to guarantee the safety of all humanitarian workers.
The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, also denounced the events: “A clearly marked UN humanitarian vehicle, which was part of a convoy fully coordinated with the Israeli army, was hit 10 times by gunfire from the army, even with bullets aimed at the front windows.” “We have no way of assessing the mentality of those who are shooting at us,” Dujarric added.
Five shots were fired at the driver’s side, three at the front passenger and three others in other parts of the car.
Last week, WFP lost access to its third and final warehouse in Gaza
