UN Aid Agency In Gaza Says Their Vehicle Convoy Was Shot By Israeli Soldiers

Delivery of aid to Gaza. (Twitter/@DrTedros)

JAKARTA - The UN aid convoy received attacks from Israeli soldiers in Gaza, according to the UN Agency's (UNRWA) Director of Assistance and Works (UNRWA) for the Palestinian enclave, Thomas White.

"Israeli troops opened fire on the aid convoy when they returned from Northern Gaza via a route determined by the Israeli Army," Thomas White wrote in a post on X on Friday, according to CNN December 29.

Although no one was injured, White said "assistance workers should not be targeted" in his post.

The convoy consists of seven UN vehicles, including two armored vehicles, with the outside marked with the letter "PBB," UNRWA Communications Director Totaling Touma told CNN on Friday.

According to Touma, the incident occurred between Gaza City and Nuseirat after the delivery of aid was carried out in the Rimal area of Gaza City.

He stated the incident occurred south of Wadi Gaza, which is located about five kilometers (or about 3.10 miles) from Gaza City, after a convoy passed through an Israeli checkpoint.

Touma also said that the convoy had been asked to change its route. It is not yet clear why the convoy was asked to make changes, and how long it took between the reported request to change the route of the convoy and reports of shootings by IDF soldiers.

Separately, the IDF told CNN it was investigating the report.

It is known that the head of UN humanitarian aid had previously described "an impossible situation" to channel aid to Gaza, where the acute hunger crisis had an impact on millions of people, as Israel continued to launch its attacks on Hamas.

UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Aid Coordinator Martin Griffiths described the "continuous bombing, poor communication, damaged roads, convoys being fired upon, delays at checkpoints."

"This is an impossible situation for Gazans and those who try to help them," he said.

"You think sending aid to Gaza is easy? Think again," Griffiths said.