“Sadly, humanitarians continue to face risks in delivering lifesaving aid.”
The UN’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said one of its vehicles has come under fire by live ammunition in the north of Gaza.
“The incident has been raised with relevant Israeli authorities,” UNICEF said in a statement. “Sadly, humanitarians continue to face risks in delivering lifesaving aid.”
The organization stressed that “unless humanitarian aid workers are protected, in accordance with IHL (International Humanitarian Law), humanitarian aid cannot reach people in need.”
Just over a week ago, a World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid convoy was attacked in an Israeli airstrike, killing seven aid workers.
Assassinating Humanity: Why Israel Killed the WCK Workers in Gaza
‘Unforgivable’
The WCK decried the attack as “unforgivable” and suspended operations with immediate effect.
The organization’s CEO Erin Gore said: “This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable.”
The team “was traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle”, when the attack occurred, the WCK said in a statement.
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“Despite coordinating movements with the IDF (Israeli Army – PC), the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse (in central Gaza), where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route,” the statement said.
‘War Steals Best of Us’
Martin Griffiths, the UN Humanitarian Chief, said he was “outraged” by the killings of the aid workers in Gaza.
“They were heroes, killed while trying to feed starving people,” Griffiths said. “All this talk about ceasefires, and still this war steals the best of us.”
He added: “The actions of those behind it are indefensible. This must stop.”
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, said on X: “I condemn the attack and urge an investigation.”
Australia as well as the UK summoned Israel’s ambassador over the attack.
US Rebuke
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deaths of the aid workers were “an unintentional killing of innocents” and will be investigated.
“This happens in war, we are thoroughly investigating it, we are in contact with the relevant parties and will do everything to ensure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again,” Netanyahu reportedly added.
The attack also received a rebuke from US President Joe Biden who called the attack “outrageous”.
Over 33,500 Killed
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 33,545 Palestinians have been killed, and 76,0949 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in the enclave.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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