September 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Tuesday that Israeli tanks fired over the weekend at a humanitarian aid convoy that had been allowed to return from the northern Gaza Strip, without causing any injuries.
“Last Saturday, while returning from a mission to northern Gaza and after a WHO-led convoy was cleared to cross the coastal road checkpoint, the convoy encountered two Israeli tanks. They fired near the convoy. Fortunately, no one was hurt. This is unacceptable,” he said in a statement posted on his social media profile X.
Tedros stressed that “amid extreme danger and life-threatening conditions, Gaza’s tireless humanitarian workers continue to deliver critical aid, serving as the last hope for survival for two million people in desperate need.” He added that “the least they deserve for their service is safety.”
The WHO chief stressed that shortly before the incident, teams had managed to reach Al Shifa hospital to deliver supplies for the emergency room. They also delivered supplies to the Palestine Red Crescent facilities in the north, including supplies for the treatment of non-communicable diseases. They also facilitated the rotation of emergency medical teams.
Last week, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, denounced the detention “at gunpoint” by Israeli troops of one of his teams heading to the Gaza Strip to coordinate polio vaccinations. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), for their part, reported that they delayed the convoy in order to interrogate a “number of suspected Palestinians” who were on board.
Add Comment