Israeli forces hold UN polio team at gunpoint

Published September 11, 2024
A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024 — AFP
A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024 — AFP

UNITED NATIONS: A UN convoy carrying workers for a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza was held at gunpoint at an Israeli military checkpoint, a UN spokesman said Tuesday, adding that shots were fired and its vehicles were rammed by a bulldozer.

Spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, called the incident “the latest example of the unacceptable dangers and impediment that humanitarian personnel in Gaza are experiencing” by Israeli forces.

He said the convoy was carrying 12 staff members on their way to support the polio campaign in northern Gaza Strip.

The group’s “movements were fully coordinated with Israeli forces, and all details provided ahead of time,” Dujarric said. But when the team reached a checkpoint, Israeli forces said they wanted to hold two UN staff members for questioning, he said. “The situation escalated very quickly, with soldiers pointing their weapons directly towards our personnel in the convoy, the UN vehicles were encircled by Israeli forces, and shots were fired,” he said.

“The convoy was then approached by IDF tanks and a bulldozer, which proceeded to ram the UN vehicles from the front and from the back, compacting the convoy with the UN staff. One bulldozer dropped debris on the first vehicle, while Israeli soldiers threatened staff, making it impossible for them to safely exit.”

The “incident and the conduct of Israeli forces on the ground put the lives of our staff in danger,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Ultimate price
Updated 02 Nov, 2024

Ultimate price

To dismantle culture of impunity for crimes against journalists, state must ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.
Mastung bombing
02 Nov, 2024

Mastung bombing

INSTABILITY continues to haunt Balochistan, as Friday morning’s bombing in Mastung has shown. At least nine...
Plane speak
02 Nov, 2024

Plane speak

DESPITE all its efforts to facilitate PIA’s privatisation, it seems the government only ended up being taken for a...
Seeking investment
Updated 01 Nov, 2024

Seeking investment

Foreign visits will be fruitless unless crucial structural, policy reforms directly affecting investors are focused.
State-backed terror
01 Nov, 2024

State-backed terror

OVER the past year or so, India’s reportedly malign activities in foreign countries have increasingly come under the radar, with
Shared crisis
01 Nov, 2024

Shared crisis

WITH Lahore experiencing unprecedented levels of smog, the Punjab government has announced a series of “green...