UN halts Gaza aid after convoy hit. two aid workers killed

UN halts Gaza aid after convoy hit. two aid workers killed:

"The United Nations has suspended its aid operations in the Gaza Strip in the wake of a series of Israeli attacks on its personnel and buildings.

'Unrwa decided to suspend all its operations in the Gaza Strip because of the increasing hostile actions against its premises and personnel,' Adnan Abu Hasna, a Gaza-based spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said on Thursday.


The move came after Israeli tanks shelled a UN convoy earlier in the day, killing a Palestinian UN worker and injuring two others, as lorries were travelling to the Erez crossing to pick up humanitarian supplies meant to have been allowed in during a three-hour suspension of fire.

At least three UN-run schools have also been hit by Israeli fire, killing scores of civilians, during the 13 days of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

John Ging, the head of Unrwa in Gaza, said the casualties in Thursday's convoy attack were Palestinian civilian contractors hired to bring supplies from the crossing points.

'They were co-ordinating their movements with the Israelis, as they always do, only to find themselves being fired at from the ground troops,' he told Al Jazeera.

'We've lost confidence. We have been reassured continuously over the last number of days that these incidents will not reoccur, and I have and I have taken that in good faith because of the humanitarian imperative.

"We want to believe we are safe here ... but the bottom line is that I've lost confidence in the Israeli side and that needs to be restored urgently, and it is their duty to restore this confidence," Ging said.

All convoys to Erez and the Kerem Shalom, which has been the main crossing point used for bringing humanitarian supplies into Gaza, were suspended after the incident.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of Thursday's incident."



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