Kurt
Member
CNN —
The World Food Programme is freezing employee movement in Gaza after one of its vehicles was targeted with repeated gunfire just meters from an Israeli checkpoint, according to a statement by the humanitarian agency.
“Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving toward an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint,” the statement by the agency read.
The armored vehicle was one of two returning from a mission escorting humanitarian aid through the Palestinian enclave. A photo released by the WFP showed multiple bullet marks in the driver’s side window; at least 10 bullets hit the vehicle, according to the agency.
None of the employees onboard were physically harmed, it said.
In a statement, the IDF said the incident was under review.
The World Food Programme is the UN’s main food relief agency, and a key pillar of the humanitarian aid network in besieged Gaza, distributing food throughout the devastated territory, where famine has been spreading for months.
But ongoing airstrikes and repeated evacuation orders by Israeli forces have forced many of the agency’s food warehouses and community kitchens to shutter, according to the WFP. The IDF-designated “humanitarian zone” in Gaza is also steadily shrinking; in the past month alone, the IDF has reduced this zone by 38% – with the remaining space making up just over a tenth of Gaza’s total area, according to a CNN analysis.
Humanitarian workers typically coordinate their routes with Israeli forces in order to move with relative safety. “As last night’s events show, the current deconfliction system is failing and this cannot go on any longer,” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in the statement.
In April, aid workers from another hunger relief group, the World Central Kitchen, were killed in an Israeli attack while traveling through Gaza by car, despite coordinating with Israeli authorities on their route and itinerary. The airstrikes hit three cars in their convoy, killing three Britons, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian, and a Pole.
The World Food Programme is freezing employee movement in Gaza after one of its vehicles was targeted with repeated gunfire just meters from an Israeli checkpoint, according to a statement by the humanitarian agency.
“Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving toward an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint,” the statement by the agency read.
The armored vehicle was one of two returning from a mission escorting humanitarian aid through the Palestinian enclave. A photo released by the WFP showed multiple bullet marks in the driver’s side window; at least 10 bullets hit the vehicle, according to the agency.
None of the employees onboard were physically harmed, it said.
In a statement, the IDF said the incident was under review.
The World Food Programme is the UN’s main food relief agency, and a key pillar of the humanitarian aid network in besieged Gaza, distributing food throughout the devastated territory, where famine has been spreading for months.
But ongoing airstrikes and repeated evacuation orders by Israeli forces have forced many of the agency’s food warehouses and community kitchens to shutter, according to the WFP. The IDF-designated “humanitarian zone” in Gaza is also steadily shrinking; in the past month alone, the IDF has reduced this zone by 38% – with the remaining space making up just over a tenth of Gaza’s total area, according to a CNN analysis.
Humanitarian workers typically coordinate their routes with Israeli forces in order to move with relative safety. “As last night’s events show, the current deconfliction system is failing and this cannot go on any longer,” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in the statement.
In April, aid workers from another hunger relief group, the World Central Kitchen, were killed in an Israeli attack while traveling through Gaza by car, despite coordinating with Israeli authorities on their route and itinerary. The airstrikes hit three cars in their convoy, killing three Britons, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian, and a Pole.
