It says an the armoured car was clearly marked with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) branding and was hit despite prior coordination with Israel to ensure it would be protected
\nGaza
\nThe UN agency for Palestinian refugees has criticised the Israeli army after an aid convoy was allegedly shot at in Gaza on Thursday.
\nIt said an armoured car was clearly marked with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) branding and was hit despite prior coordination with Israel to ensure it would be protected.
\nThe vehicle was one of two returning to the south of Gaza after delivering supplies, including food, to Rimal in Gaza City in the north.
\nUNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma told Sky News the team came under gunfire just south of Wadi Gaza on Salah al Deen, the main road connecting the north and south of Gaza.
\nThe aid staff \u201ccould see it was the Israeli army firing at the cars\u201d, she said.
\nThomas White, director of UNRWA affairs Gaza, wrote on X: \u201cAid workers should never be a target.\u201d
\nSky News has contacted the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) with a request to comment.
\nMeanwhile, Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israel\u2019s prime minister, has claimed the UNRWA\u2019s workers\u2019 union is under the control of Hamas.
\nHe told Sky News: \u201cAll the information he [Thomas White] is receiving is information that Hamas wants him to hear.
\n\u201cAnd we have clear indications that Hamas is desperate for the international community to support a ceasefire because they [Hamas] see Israel\u2019s military operation is moving ahead.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re taking apart Hamas\u2019s military machine, we\u2019re eliminating its senior commanders, and they\u2019re desperate for a ceasefire.
\n\u201cThey want to give the feeling there\u2019s a humanitarian crisis, so there\u2019s more pressure on Israel to cease fire, to save themselves.
\n\u201cWe can\u2019t let them succeed in doing that.\u201d
\nAsked whether there would be an investigation into UNRWA\u2019s claims, he said: \u201cThere\u2019s always an investigation. When we have made a mistake, we have admitted it.\u201d
\nElsewhere, Mercy Corps vice president Kate Phillips-Barrasso has warned aid is desperately needed throughout Gaza, where half a million people – a quarter of its 2.3 million residents – faced \u201ccatastrophic hunger and starvation\u201d.
\nSome 85% of the population has been displaced by the IDF\u2019s air and ground offensive after Hamas\u2019s 7 October attack on Israel that saw 1,200 people killed.
\nThe conflict has claimed the lives of more than 21,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry.
\nMs Phillips-Barrasso said the amount of lifesaving goods being allowed to enter remains a drop in the ocean, far short from meeting Gazans\u2019 basic and critical needs, even after Israel opened its Kerem Shalom border crossing.
\nThursday\u2019s alleged attack on the UNRWA vehicles came despite the agency conducting prior \u201cdeconfliction\u201d with the Israeli army to ensure aid cars and personnel are protected on the roads, the UNRWA\u2019s Ms Touma added.
\nShe told Sky News: \u201cWe expect them to be protected. It should not happen. UN personnel and UN vehicles must be protected at all times.\u201d
\n\u201cLuckily, fortunately, no one was hurt.\u201d
\nOne vehicle was damaged, but made it back to the UNRWA base in the south of Gaza city, she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It says an the armoured car was clearly marked with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) branding and was hit despite prior coordination with Israel to ensure it would be protected Gaza The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has criticised the Israeli army after an aid convoy was allegedly shot at in Gaza on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-377815","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n