Shooting At WFP Vehicles In Gaza Due To Communication Errors, US Urges Israel To Take Responsibility

WFP vehicles fired at the Gaza Strip, Palestine. (Twitter/@WFP_Media)

JAKARTA - The United States has asked Israel to take responsibility after the country's military carried out the shooting of a UN food agency vehicle in Gaza, Palestine.

The US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations explained on Thursday that an initial review found that shots fired at World Food Program (WFP) vehicles in the Gaza Strip occurred after a "communication error" between Israeli military units,

"We have urged them to immediately fix the problems in their system," Robert Wood said at a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza.

"Israel must not only be held accountable for its mistakes, but must also take concrete action to ensure the IDF does not fire on UN personnel again," he stressed.

As previously reported, the WFP suspended the temporary movement of its employees in the Gaza Strip, Palestine on Wednesday, after one of the operational vehicles with clear identity markers was bombarded with 10 bullets as it approached the Israeli military checkpoint.

The WFP said in a statement that a convoy of two armored vehicles received "several permits from Israeli authorities to approach" the Wadi Gaza bridge checkpoint on Tuesday night. The bullet hit one of the vehicles, but no one in it was injured.

"While this is not the first security incident to occur during a war, it is the first time a WFP vehicle has been shot directly near a checkpoint, despite obtaining the necessary permits," the WFP said.

It said the vehicle was "several meters" from Israel's checkpoint when it was hit.

Previously, incidents of attacks on aid and humanitarian organizations have also occurred since the latest conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023.

In April, three Israeli airstrikes hit a convoy of humanitarian aid vehicles crossing Gaza, killing seven World Central Kitchen staff.

It is known that the United Nations has long complained about obstacles in the distribution and distribution of aid during the war as well as in the midst of "total law violations" in the Palestinian enclave.