The UN company for Palestinian refugees has criticised the Israeli military after an help convoy was allegedly shot at in Gaza on Thursday.
It mentioned an armoured automotive was clearly marked with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) branding and was hit regardless of prior coordination with Israel to make sure it might be protected.
The car was one among two returning to the south of Gaza after delivering provides, together with meals, to Rimal in Gaza City within the north.
UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma informed Sky News the staff got here beneath gunfire simply south of Wadi Gaza on Salah al Deen, the principle street connecting the north and south of Gaza.
The help employees “could see it was the Israeli army firing at the cars”, she mentioned.
Thomas White, director of UNRWA affairs Gaza, wrote on X: “Aid workers should never be a target.”
Sky News has contacted the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) with a request to remark.
Meanwhile, Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israel’s prime minister, has claimed the UNRWA’s staff’ union is beneath the management of Hamas.
He informed Sky News: “All the information he [Thomas White] is receiving is information that Hamas wants him to hear.
“And we now have clear indications that Hamas is determined for the worldwide neighborhood to assist a ceasefire as a result of they [Hamas] see Israel’s navy operation is shifting forward.
“We’re taking apart Hamas’s military machine, we’re eliminating its senior commanders, and they’re desperate for a ceasefire.
“They need to give the sensation there is a humanitarian disaster, so there’s extra strain on Israel to stop fireplace, to avoid wasting themselves.
“We can’t let them succeed in doing that.”
Asked whether or not there could be an investigation into UNRWA’s claims, he mentioned: “There’s always an investigation. When we have made a mistake, we have admitted it.”
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Elsewhere, Mercy Corps vp Kate Phillips-Barrasso has warned help is desperately wanted all through Gaza, the place half one million folks – 1 / 4 of its 2.3 million residents – confronted “catastrophic hunger and starvation”.
Some 85% of the inhabitants has been displaced by the IDF’s air and floor offensive after Hamas’s 7 October assault on Israel that noticed 1,200 folks killed.
The battle has claimed the lives of greater than 21,000 Palestinians, in accordance with the Hamas-run Palestinian well being ministry.
Ms Phillips-Barrasso mentioned the quantity of lifesaving items being allowed to enter stays a drop within the ocean, far brief from assembly Gazans’ primary and important wants, even after Israel opened its Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Thursday’s alleged assault on the UNRWA automobiles got here regardless of the company conducting prior “deconfliction” with the Israeli military to make sure help vehicles and personnel are protected on the roads, the UNRWA’s Ms Touma added.
She informed Sky News: “We expect them to be protected. It should not happen. UN personnel and UN vehicles must be protected at all times.”
“Luckily, fortunately, no one was hurt.”
One car was broken, however made it again to the UNRWA base within the south of Gaza metropolis, she mentioned.
Source: information.sky.com”