An American charity-led aid convoy headed to a Gaza hospital was attacked by an Israeli missile, killing several people from a local transportation company. The attack came just hours after another aid convoy, led by the World Food Programme, also came under Israeli fire. Israel claimed the attack was in response to gunmen seizing the convoy, a claim refuted by the aid organization coordinating the mission.
In response to the escalating violence, the United States has criticized Israel for its attacks on aid workers and called for an end to assaults and threatening rhetoric against humanitarian organizations. Meanwhile, a three-day pause in fighting was agreed upon by both Israel and Hamas to allow for a polio vaccination drive in the Gaza Strip, following the paralysis of a baby from the poliovirus – the first case in Gaza in 25 years.
The vaccination campaign, which will focus on children, will be carried out by UN staff in Gaza, with coordination from the Israeli military’s humanitarian unit, COGAT. However, Israel’s military operation in the West Bank continues, with Israeli forces claiming to have targeted a “terrorist cell” in Jenin and a local commander of the Islamic Jihad movement in Tulkarem.
The raids in the West Bank, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 19 people, are seen by Palestinians as an attempt to perpetuate Israel’s military rule over the territory, further escalating tensions in the region.
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