On Friday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) denounced Israel’s attack on one of its humanitarian convoys trying to reach northern Gaza.
RELATED:
Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital Has Literally Become a Graveyard: WHO
According to the organization, the convoy was shot, last tuesday, by an Israeli checkpoint, fortunately no humanitarian workers were injured. The bullets were directed at a group of civilians in the area.
Tess Ingram, a spokeswoman for UNICEF, who was in the attacked convoy, said: "It was an armored vehicle, it was clearly identified as a UN vehicle, and we were in an area where we were told to wait".
"This should not happen at all. We were very lucky that everyone was safe and unharmed," added the spokeswoman for the children’s organization.
The vehicle was part of a joint mission of UNICEF and UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, which was transporting food, medicine and fuel to power sanitation systems and running water in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.
After the incident, aid workers decided they wanted to continue with the mission, but it was impossible for them, as the army kept them waiting at the checkpoint for more than two hours, and eventually they had to return to Rafah.
Another vehicle carrying fuel was also hit during the incident as part of a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy.
The Palestinian Red Cross and Red Crescent also reported the death of paramedic Abdel-Latif Abu Saeed, who had been seriously injured during the evacuation of al-Amal hospital.
In addition, the Red Crescent reported that, since the beginning of the conflict, 27 members of its staff have been killed, 17 of them while carrying out their humanitarian duty, the rest because of their injuries, such as Saeed.