Israeli soldiers halted a UN convoy involved in the recent polio vaccination drive in Gaza and detained two staff members for questioning, in an incident during which live shots were fired and vehicles damaged by a bulldozer, the UN has said.
Details of the incident, which occurred at the Al Rashid checkpoint, were revealed in a statement by the office of the UN humanitarian coordinator for Palestine, Muhannad Hadi, who said the lives of UN staff in the vehicles had been endangered.
He said a convoy of 12 UN staff members “whose movement was fully coordinated with Israel Defense Forces, and whose details were shared with them in advance, was stopped on its way to North Gaza to support the third phase of the Gaza Strip-wide polio vaccination campaign” on Monday.
According to the statement: “While at the checkpoint the team was informed that the IDF wanted to hold two of the UN staff members in the convoy for further questioning.
“The situation escalated quickly, with soldiers pointing their weapons directly towards the convoy personnel. Live shots were fired, and tanks and bulldozers approached, engaged with, and damaged UN vehicles, endangering the lives of UN staff inside the vehicles.
“The convoy remained held at gunpoint while senior level UN officials engaged with the Israeli Authorities to de-escalate the situation.
“The two staff were eventually questioned, one by one, and then released. After seven and a half hours at the checkpoint, the convoy returned to base without being able to fulfil its humanitarian mission to support the polio campaign.
“This incident highlights the ongoing dangers and obstacles humanitarian personnel face in Gaza. Despite daily coordination of humanitarian movements with the Israel Defense Forces, our staff and assets were not provided with sufficient protection, hindering our work.
“Under international humanitarian law, such protection is mandatory.”
The IDF said in a statement that it had acted “following intelligence that a number of Palestinian suspects were present in the convoy” and delayed it to question them.
It said the convoy was not involved in the transport of polio vaccines but was being used instead to exchange UN personnel.
The incident on Monday follows previous cases in which humanitarian workers, both Palestinian and international, have been confronted with sometimes lethal violence while trying to deliver aid.
Senior UN and aid officials have also complained repeatedly through the 11 months of the conflict that Israel has obstructed their efforts, a claim Israel denies.
In one of the most serious incidents in April, seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen, including three Britons, were killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicles.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s main agency for humanitarian relief in Palestine (Unrwa), said the convoy had been held on Monday for more than eight hours despite “prior detailed coordination”.
“This significant incident is the latest in a series of violations against UN staff including shootings at convoys and arrests by the Israeli Armed Forces at checkpoints despite prior notification,” he said.
Unrwa said last month that 207 of its staff had been among more than 280 aid workers killed in Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the current war.
