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Rabat – The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) targeted a food convoy from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) that was heading to northern Gaza on Monday morning.
“This morning a food convoy waiting to move into Northern Gaza was hit by Israeli naval gunfire – thankfully no one was injured,” Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, Thomas White, said on X, formerly Twitter.
He posted a picture showing the damage done to the food convoy, destroying the already dwindling aid that reaches the besieged enclave.
The truck was carrying must-needed supplies for Palestinians in northern Gaza, who are facing a high risk of starvation amid a lack of access to drinking water, food, and healthcare.
The attack on the UNRWA food convoy comes as several Western countries decided to halt their funding for the UN agency.
This includes the US, Britain, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, among others. The governments of these countries made the decision following Israeli allegations regarding 13 UNRWA employees, whom were allegedly conspiring with Hamas on the October 7 attack.
Read also: UNRWA Crisis: What’s Going On, How Do Funding Suspensions Cause Peril?
Austria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for a thorough investigation into the accusations.
“Until these allegations are fully clarified, and there is clarity about the resulting consequences, Austria, in coordination with international partners, will temporarily suspend all further payments to UNRWA,” said the ministry in a press release last month.
The move has triggered widespread protests in Jordan and Lebanon as hundreds of demonstrators decried the cut in funding for the UNRWA.
In addition, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on these governments to reconsider their decision, stressing that “two million civilians in Gaza depend on critical aid from UNRWA.”
In a recent development, Palestine’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced last week that representatives from five countries who have suspended funding to the UNRWA confirmed their intention to resume their contributions within the next few weeks.
Canada was explicitly mentioned as one of the countries pledging to reinstate its financial support to UNRWA, but the exact details of the commitments from the other four countries remain undisclosed.
