‘This is unacceptable’, says WHO chief after Israeli tanks fired on Gaza aid convoy

The head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said Israeli tanks fired on an aid convoy on a mission to northern Gaza. Posting on X on Wednesday, 18 September he wrote that a WHO-led convoy encountered two Israeli tanks while on the way back from a mission last Saturday.

Shots were fired from the tanks near the convoy, he said, adding that the convoy had received clearance. Nobody was hurt during the incident, he said.

"This is unacceptable," he said, noting that humanitarian workers in Gaza deliver critical aid "amid extreme danger and life-threatening conditions".

He added: "The minimum they deserve for their service is safety. The deconfliction mechanism needs to be adhered to. Ceasefire!"

"Last Saturday, on the way back from a mission to the northern Gaza and after a WHO-led convoy got clearance and crossed the coast road checkpoint, the convoy encountered two Israeli tanks. Shots were fired from the tanks near the convoy. Luckily nobody was hurt. This is unacceptable," the WHO Chief said.

The incident came just a week after the United Nations said that a convoy carrying workers for a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza had been held at gunpoint at an Israeli military checkpoint.

During that encounter, in the context of a massive vaccination campaign after the first case of polio in 25 years was registered in the Palestinian territory, shots were fired and convoy vehicles were rammed by a bulldozer, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said last week.

The "incident and the conduct of Israeli forces on the ground put the lives of our staff in danger," he added.

"It is critical that Israeli forces take measures to protect humanitarian staff and assets to facilitate their work." In his post, the WHO Chief hailed the teams in Saturday’s convoy who "despite the security risk" had managed to reach Al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, to deliver supplies for the emergency room.

"Supplies were also delivered to support the Palestine Red Crescent Society facilities in the north, including for the treatment of noncommunicable diseases," he said.

"The teams also facilitated the rotation of emergency medical teams." The United Nations health agency chief hailed the "unwavering humanitarian workers in Gaza," who "amid extreme danger and life-threatening conditions... continue to deliver critical aid".

They are "serving as the last hope for the survival for two million people in desperate need," he said in his post.

The 7 October attack on southern Israel that sparked the conflict in Gaza resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,252 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.