Stéphane Dujarric de la Rivière, Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, stated that a UN convoy conducting a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza was threatened with firearms by the Israeli military on Sept. 9.
He mentioned that a UN convoy carrying 12 staff members was en route to North Gaza on Sept. 9 to support the third phase of the Gaza Strip-wide polio vaccination campaign.
He emphasized that the UN's operations were fully coordinated with the Israeli Defense Forces, and details were shared with them in advance. However, the soldiers wanted to hold two of the UN staff members for questioning when the convoy arrived at an Israeli military checkpoint. The situation escalated quickly, with soldiers pointing their weapons directly towards the convoy personnel.
He noted that shots were fired at the scene. Subsequently, Israeli tanks and bulldozers approached, engaged with, and damaged UN vehicles.
The convoy was held for seven and a half hours before being released and returning to the UN base, failing to fulfill its humanitarian mission to support the polio campaign.
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