A UN convoy in Gaza that was carrying a group of five Palestinian children, including a baby, to reunite them with their father was shot at at an Israeli military checkpoint on Tuesday, UNICEF reported.
No one was hurt, UNICEF said. One of the two cars in the convoy was hit with three bullets at a designated waiting point near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, and the convoy was able to continue its journey to deliver the children.
These shots came despite the UN’s meticulous efforts to deconflict their convoys, meaning that they communicate with Israeli forces, sharing information like coordinates and route to ensure safe passage.
Further, a shooter would likely have been able to see the large, clear labels marking the car as a UN convoy, as UNICEF pointed out.
“This is the second shooting incident involving UNICEF cars on humanitarian duty in the past 12 weeks and on both occasions, the humanitarian consequences could have been severe, for both our teams and the children they serve,” said UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Adele Khodr.
“We strongly reiterate that humanitarian workers are protected under International Humanitarian Law and must not be targeted. Our operations must be facilitated and protected to provide the lifesaving aid that the people and children in Gaza desperately rely on,” Khodr went on.
Though a UN spokesperson said they have not been able to determine where the shots originated from, Israeli forces shot another UN convoy while waiting at the same checkpoint just on Sunday.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini reported about Sunday’s attack on social media, noting that no one was hurt but UN staff were forced to duck and hide from the attack. One of the cars in the convoy was shot five times.
“Heavy shooting from the Israeli Forces at a UN convoy heading to Gaza city,” Lazzarini said, noting that the car and workers were clearly marked with UN logos. “Like all other similar UN movements, this movement was coordinated and approved by the Israeli Authorities. Those responsible must be held accountable.”
Tuesday’s attack is one of countless incidents in which Israeli forces have killed or attacked children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in the last nine months. The attack on the car recalls a similar incident in January when Israeli forces killed 6-year-old Hind Rajab, with an Israeli tank operator shooting the car she and her family were in 355 times and killing the ambulance operators sent to save her.
Rajab is one of tens of thousands of children Israel has killed or rendered missing throughout its genocide in Gaza and war on children, as UN officials have labeled it.
Israel has also been escalating its violence against children in the occupied West Bank. UNICEF reported this week that Israeli forces have killed 143 children in the West Bank since October — amounting to one child every two days. On top of that, 440 children have been injured by live ammunition, the agency said.
This is a 250 percent increase in deaths of Palestinian children compared to the preceding nine months, the group said.
The UN has specifically condemned Israel’s violence against children in Gaza and has documented thousands of Israeli war crimes against Palestinian children alone. In June, the UN added Israel to a list of global violators of children’s rights.
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