UN Temporarily Suspends Humanitarian Aid Movements at Night in Gaza

The UN humanitarian aid convoy has entered northern Gaza. (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) has temporarily stopped the movement of humanitarian aid at night in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, for at least 48 hours, to evaluate security concerns, following an Israeli attack that killed humanitarian workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday.

He said the suspension began on Tuesday. The World Food Program (WFP) continued its operations throughout the day, including daily efforts to send convoys north to Gaza "where many people are dying," Dujarric said.

"When famine started, we needed humanitarian staff and supplies to be able to move freely and safely across the Gaza Strip," he told journalists, as reported by Reuters, April 4.

As previously reported, Israeli air strikes killed seven aid workers from a team delivering food to civilians in Gaza, according to WCK and authorities in the enclave.

WCK on Tuesday shared the identities of the victims who died in Monday's incident, namely John Chapman (57), James (Jim) Henderson (33), James Kirby (47), Jacob Flickinger (33), Damian Sobol, Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom and Saifeddin Issam, as reported by CNN.

They were traveling in two armored cars bearing WCK logos and other vehicles, WCK said in a statement.

Although the convoy was coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it was attacked as it left the Deir al-Balah warehouse, after unloading more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, WCK said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel mistakenly killed seven people working for WCK in an airstrike in Gaza on Monday, prompting condemnation and calls for an explanation from the United States and other allies.

On the other hand, the UN has long complained about obstacles in getting aid and distributing it throughout Gaza.

The death of seven aid workers in an Israeli airstrike on an aid convoy in the Gaza Strip on Monday extends the list of aid workers killed during the latest conflict in the Palestinian enclave.

The top UN official for coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said the killing of seven staff from a charity group helping to alleviate famine conditions in the Gaza Strip "was not an isolated incident."

"At least 196 humanitarian workers have been killed” in Gaza from October 2023 to March 20, said Jamie McGoldrick in a statement, reported by The Times of Israel, April 3.

"This is almost three times the number of deaths recorded in any conflict in a year," he continued.

McGoldrick added that the Palestinian enclave "has become one of the most dangerous and difficult places to work in the world. There is no safe place left in Gaza."

The UN itself has repeatedly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the six-month war between Israel and Hamas. Israel retaliated against Hamas in Gaza for the deadly October 7 attack carried out by Palestinian militants against Israel.