UN says its humanitarian vehicle hit by Israeli forces in Gaza

The United Nations said on Wednesday that a UN humanitarian vehicle was struck by Israeli military gunfire on Tuesday evening as it took part in a convoy in Gaza that was coordinated with the IDF.

“A clearly marked UN humanitarian vehicle, part of a convoy that had been fully coordinated with the IDF was struck 10 times by IDF gunfire, including with bullets targeting front windows,” UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that the two occupants were unharmed.

“This is the latest incident to underscore that systems in place for coordination are not working, and we continue to work with the IDF to ensure that incidents like that do not happen again,” Dujarric told reporters.

“We have no way to assess the mindset of those who are shooting at us,” he added, noting that it was not clear if information about the convoy’s movement had been passed down to Israeli authorities.

It is not the first incident of UN vehicles being hit since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the October 7 attack. In May, a UN staff member from India was killed when their vehicle was struck by what the United Nations said was tank fire in southern Gaza.