GAZA,(Palestine Foundation Information Center)The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday evening that a humanitarian aid convoy belonging to it came under fire from the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in the Gaza Strip.
The ICRC said the convoy of five trucks and two vehicles was carrying medical supplies to the Red Crescent in health facilities, including Al-Quds Hospital. One driver was lightly wounded and two trucks were damaged.
The convoy changed its route and could continue to Al-Shifa Hospital, where it delivered the supplies. It then accompanied six ambulances transporting critically wounded patients to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, according to ICRC.
ICRC said that it “is deeply troubled that its humanitarian convoy in Gaza City came under fire on Tuesday.”
“These are not the conditions under which humanitarian personnel can work,” William Schomburg, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza, said in a statement.
“We are here to bring urgent assistance to civilians in need. Ensuring that vital aid can reach medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law,” Schomburg added.
For its part, the Red Crescent affirmed that the IOF opened fire at the ICRC convoy that was carrying medical and food aid to heath facilities, including Al-Quds Hospital.
The Red Crescent appealed to the international community and humanitarian organizations to take action to stop the Israeli targeting of humanitarian and medical convoys.
The Red Crescent asserted that such Israeli attacks prevent institutions from sending humanitarian aid to Gaza Governorate and the northern areas of the Strip.
The Red Crescent stressed the need for making more attempts to provide hospitals with more aid, in addition to “fuel supplies” — which has not entered the entire Gaza Strip since the war started.
It also called for providing northern Gaza with food and water, which has become a major challenge there.
