WFP halts Gaza operations after repeated shooting at aid vehicle

CNN
—

The World Food Programme has halted the movement of its staff in Gaza after one of its vehicles was repeatedly targeted by gunfire just metres from an Israeli checkpoint, the humanitarian agency said in a statement.

“Although the vehicle was clearly marked and had received several approvals from the Israeli authorities to approach, it came under direct fire as it moved towards an IDF checkpoint,” the agency’s statement said.

The armored vehicle was one of two returning from a mission to escort humanitarian aid through the Palestinian enclave. A photo released by the World Food Programme showed multiple bullet holes in the driver’s side window; at least 10 bullets hit the vehicle, according to the agency.

The company said none of the employees on board were physically harmed.

The incident is under review, the IDF said in a statement.

The World Food Programme is the United Nations’ main food relief agency and a mainstay of the humanitarian aid network in besieged Gaza, distributing food across the devastated territory where famine has spread 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 close, according to the World Food Programme. The “humanitarian zone” designated by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza is also shrinking steadily; in the past month alone, the IDF has reduced this area by 38% — the remaining area makes up just over a tenth of Gaza’s total area, according to a CNN analysis.

Humanitarian workers usually coordinate their routes with Israeli forces in order to move in relative safety. “As last night’s events demonstrated, the current deconfliction system has failed and cannot continue for much longer,” Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Programme, said in a statement.

In April, aid workers from another hunger relief organization, World Central Kitchen, were killed in an Israeli attack while traveling through Gaza by car, despite coordinating their route with Israeli authorities. Airstrikes hit three vehicles in their convoy, killing three Britons, a Palestinian, a dual US-Canadian citizen, an Australian and a Polish national.

At a news conference on Wednesday, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said the WFP aid vehicle that came under fire was clearly marked, describing the WFP logo as “probably one of the most recognizable logos in the world” in conflict zones.

He said the United Nations had formally protested to Israel about the incident and stressed the responsibility of UN member states to protect UN aid workers, who serve populations in some of the most dangerous places in the world.

“Whether it’s in Gaza, whether it’s in Sudan, whether it’s in Chad, whether it’s anywhere else, whether it’s in Ukraine, in places of fighting, they don’t operate according to the whims of (Secretary-General) Antonio Guterres,” he added.

“They are working on behalf of the United Nations… and all member states that are part of this organization have a responsibility to ensure that the humanitarian workers who work for them are protected, so to speak.”

Pressure is mounting on Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire and release hostages amid severe famine, water shortages, mass displacement and disease in the territory.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 40,435 Palestinians and wounded 93,534 others. The Israeli military launched its air and ground assault on the isolated enclave after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 others, according to Israeli authorities.

This story has been updated.