Gaza War: United Nations World Food Program condemns Israeli attack on aid convoy
the WFP issued a statement Monday condemning the attack and emphasizing that its vehicles were “clearly marked.”
“At least 16 bullets” hit the convoy three vehicles carrying eight personnel were shot at near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint. “Thankfully, no staff were injured in this horrific encounter,” the agency added.
All necessary permits have been provided by Israeli authorities and WFP says this is “just the latest example of the complex and dangerous work environment” its teams face.
Warehouse strike
The development comes amid reports that a rocket struck a flour distribution depot in central Gaza run by a United Nations aid partner over the weekend, killing three employees. Dao was seriously injured.
United Nations agency teams in the vicinity of the archive described hearing people screaming after the strike. They also reported looting and shooting after Sunday’s explosion at the MA’AN Development Center facility.
It has been 15 months since war broke out in Gaza, fueled by Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel that left some 1,200 people dead in October 2023 and more than 250 held hostage. .
Reportedly, ceasefire negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli officials have yet to result in an agreement to stop the violence or release those arrested.
To date, Israeli bombardments from the air, land and sea continue to be reported across the Gaza Strip, where a harsh winter has begun.
Eight babies are believed to have died of hypothermia and more than 45,300 Palestinians were killed and more than 107,700 injured; One in five of those have suffered life-changing injuries since October 7, 2023, according to authorities.
Tensions are rising in Lebanon
In Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force there called on all sides in the conflict to back off from any moves that could jeopardize their fragile ceasefire, after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “Intentionally and directly destroyed” the line marking the withdrawal of troops in southern Lebanon.
In a statement condemning the action at the weekend, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIT) describes how peacekeepers watched an IDF bulldozer “destroy a blue barrel marking the retreat route between Lebanon and Israel in Labbouneh, as well as an observation tower belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces right next to an observation tower.” UNIT position there”.
This development marks “a blatant violation resolution 1701 and international law”, the United Nations Mission emphasized, when mentioning Security Council resolution passed after the 2006 war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, seeking to end the conflict between them.
Dangerous move
In recent days, UNIFIL has also reported ongoing IDF operations north of the UN-controlled Green Line. despite the 60-day ceasefire agreement signed on November 27, 2024 by the Governments of Israel and Lebanon.
Specifically, it calls for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon and for Hezbollah to end its armed presence there, within the same timeframe.
The agreement is designed to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that flared up again in October 2023, after the start of the war in Gaza.
In a situation update, United Nations aid agencies reported that complex humanitarian needs persist in Lebanon.
According to the United Nations migration agency, IOM, More than 860,000 people uprooted in Lebanon due to the recent conflict have now returned to their former communities, but nearly 124,000 people are still displaced.
Since December 8 when the Assad regime fell, some 90,000 people have also arrived in Lebanon from Syria – both Lebanese and Syrian citizens – to face “widespread destruction of homes and critical infrastructure , disruption of essential services, mine risks, limited livelihoods and exhausted coping mechanisms,” the UN refugee agency warned, UNHCR.
In its call for “immediate humanitarian relief and long-term recovery support”, the UN agency said those who remained in conflict-affected areas during the escalation and “faces a dire situation as essential services have been severely restricted for a long period of time”. ”.
