(United Nations) The United States on Thursday called on Israel to “take concrete steps” to stop firing on UN personnel, after a UN vehicle was hit by bullets at an Israeli army checkpoint in Gaza.
Washington has called on its Israeli ally to “correct the problems within their system that allowed this to happen,” Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, noting that after nearly 11 months of war between Israel and Hamas, such events were “all too common.”
“These incidents should not be happening. Israel must take responsibility for its mistakes, but also take concrete steps to ensure that [les forces de défense israéliennes] do not fire on UN personnel again,” he added.
The UN announced on Wednesday that a clearly identified and authorized World Food Program (WFP) armored vehicle had been hit ten times by Israeli fire the previous day, without causing any casualties, a few meters from a checkpoint in Wadi Gaza, in the center of the Palestinian territory.
The WFP, denouncing the action as “totally unacceptable”, has since suspended the movement of its staff in the Gaza Strip, continuing its operations as far as possible through its humanitarian partners, the UN said.
The Israeli military said the incident was “under review” and assured that the government was “committed to improving coordination and security with humanitarian organizations.”