Tel Aviv, Sept 9, (dpa/GNA) – The Israeli army said on Monday that it stopped a UN vehicle convoy in northern Gaza, citing “intelligence indicating that a number of Palestinian suspects were present in it.”
The convoy had been stopped in order to question the suspects. The vehicles in question were transporting UN employees, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. The incident is ongoing, it added.
Israeli television channel Kan reported that two suspected Palestinians had “infiltrated” the convoy and barricaded themselves in one of the vehicles. Israeli soldiers fired warning shots, the report said.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told dpa: “At this stage all I can say that we are aware of an ongoing incident involving UN personnel and vehicles. (We are) working to establish the facts (and our) number one priority is the safety and security of our colleagues.”
Relations between Israel and the United Nations have been particularly strained during the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israeli officials have repeatedly accused employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of being linked to terrorism.
Last month, the UN reported that Israeli soldiers fired on a UN humanitarian vehicle in a convoy, prompting the Israeli military to announce an investigation into the incident.
GNA