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The Israeli Army stopped a UN convoy on its way to northern Gaza

UNRWA

10 Sep 2024

From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter)

The Israeli Army stopped a UN convoy on its way to northern Gaza for more than eight hours today (Monday) despite prior detailed coordination.

The convoy had both national and international staff traveling to roll out the polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza city and northern Gaza.

The convoy was stopped at gun point just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN staff.

Heavy damage was caused by bulldozers to the UN armoured vehicles.

All staff and convoy are now released and back safely in the UN base. We are not able to confirm whether the polio campaign will take place tomorrow, (Tuesday) in northern Gaza.

This significant incident is the latest in a series of violations against UN staff including shootings at convoys and arrests by the Israeli Armed Forces at checkpoints despite prior notification.

UN Staff must be allowed to undertake their duties in safety and be protected at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Gaza is no different.

Background Information:

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.

UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.