2024-08-31 05:39:37
The United States has called on Israel to “immediately correct” its behavior after an incident involving the shooting of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy in the Gaza Strip. US diplomats say Israel has acknowledged its involvement in the incident, blaming it on a communication error between military 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 Israel must guarantee their safety. US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Robert Wood added that Washington had been informed by Israel 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 at least 10 bullets had hit one of the convoy’s vehicles as it approached an Israeli military checkpoint at the Wadi Gaza bridge. Fortunately, no one in the convoy was hurt.
The Israeli army said the incident occurred when a group of armed men attempted to hijack a vehicle leading a humanitarian convoy in southern Gaza. Despite the incident, officials from Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) confirmed that all members of the Anera aid organization, which was involved in the aid delivery, had arrived safely at their destination.
The incident came as the UN was preparing 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 the vaccinations.
The incident was the latest in a series of tensions over humanitarian aid in Gaza. Earlier in April, the Israeli army inadvertently targeted a World Central Kitchen aid convoy, killing seven of the organization’s staff.
The Gaza conflict began on October 7 after thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. The death toll in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, has exceeded 40,000, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, although the figures do not differentiate between civilians and militants. Israeli forces say they have killed about 17,000 Hamas militants and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel since the conflict began.
Earlier, Cursor wrote that Israel’s British lawyers put forward a tough demand to the ICC Prosecutor General.