On Monday, Israeli forces halted a U.N. convoy participating in a recent polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza, detaining two staff members for questioning, according to a U.N. statement. The Israeli military alleged that "Palestinian suspects" were among those in the convoy, a claim the U.N. has denied, citing prior information provided to the Israeli military.
IOF Halts UN Gaza Polio Vaccine Convoy Heading to North Gaza
Israeli soldiers stopped a U.N. convoy involved in a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, according to the U.N.
The Israeli military detained the convoy for several hours, escalating the situation after demanding two of the 12 passengers for questioning. The Israeli soldiers pointed their weapons at the U.N. personnel, and shots were fired.
The convoy was eventually released, and U.N. officials confirmed the safe return of their staff to a U.N. base without completing the mission of entering the northern Gaza Strip.
IOF Claims “Palestinian Suspects” Embedded Within UN Team
The Israeli military official X account released a statement on the incident, stating that the military detained a convoy of U.N. vehicles in the north of the Gaza Strip based on intelligence suggesting "a number of Palestinian suspects" were present in the U.N. convoy, prompting the delay for questioning.
According to the IOF, the convoy was not involved in transporting polio vaccines but was instead being used for a personnel exchange. The statement emphasized, "This is not a convoy that transported polio vaccines, but a convoy whose purpose is a personnel exchange of UN personnel."
Hebrew media outlets, known for their strong bias toward the Israeli military, reported the IOF's narrative of the incident. For example, The Jerusalem Post published an article titled "IDF detains terror suspect embedded within UN team in northern Gaza," echoing the military's claims.
However, referring to "terror suspects" is misleading, as the IOF itself said that the two detained U.N. staff members were released later. Clearly, if they were actual "terror suspects," the Israeli military would not have released them.
UN Denies IOF's Claim Citing Prior Notification
On Tuesday, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Palestine, Muhannad Hadi, released a statement including details of the incident at the Al Rashid checkpoint. He emphasized that the lives of U.N. staff had been put at risk. Hadi explained that a convoy of 12 U.N. staff members, whose movements had been fully coordinated with the IOF and shared with them in advance, was stopped while en route to North Gaza to support the third phase of a polio vaccination campaign on Monday.
In the statement, the U.N. described how the incident unfolded: “At the checkpoint the team was informed that the IOF wanted to hold two of the U.N. staff members in the convoy for further questioning.”
The situation escalated quickly, with soldiers pointing their weapons directly towards the convoy personnel. Live shots were fired, and tanks and bulldozers approached, engaged with, and damaged U.N. vehicles, endangering the lives of U.N. staff inside the vehicles.
The convoy was held at gunpoint as senior U.N. officials negotiated with Israeli authorities to de-escalate the situation.
“The two staff were eventually questioned, one by one, and then released. After seven and a half hours at the checkpoint, the convoy returned to base without being able to fulfil its humanitarian mission to support the polio campaign,” the statement added.
The statement concluded by underscoring the persistent risks and challenges faced by humanitarian workers in Gaza. It emphasized that, despite the daily coordination of movements with the IOF, U.N. staff and resources were not given the necessary protection, significantly obstructing their work. The statement further stressed that such protection is a requirement under international humanitarian law.
UN Spokesperson: Israeli Military Threatened UN Polio Vaccination Convoy
According to the U.N. Secretary General’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric also presents the U.N. account of the incident live. He said shots were fired during the Israeli military’s prolonged detention of a U.N. convoy in Gaza. The situation escalated after the IOF stopped the convoy at a checkpoint on Monday, demanding to detain two of the 12 passengers for questioning.
Dujarric reported that Israeli soldiers aimed their weapons at the U.N. personnel, and at one point, shots were fired. He further explained that IOF tanks and bulldozers "ram the UN vehicles from the back and front, compacting the convoy with UN staff still inside." One bulldozer dropped debris on the lead vehicle while soldiers threatened the staff, preventing them from safely exiting.
Although the convoy was eventually released, U.N. officials confirmed that the mission could not be completed, though the staff returned safely to a U.N. base.
The U.N. has firmly refuted the Israeli military's claim that the convoy was not involved in transporting polio vaccines but was instead being used for a personnel exchange. The U.N. clarified that the convoy was, in fact, part of the polio vaccination campaign, carrying both national and international staff members who were responsible for rolling out the vaccination effort for children in Gaza City and northern Gaza.
Furthermore, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of UNRWA, stated that the convoy had been detained for over eight hours on Monday despite "prior detailed coordination" with Israeli authorities.
He emphasized that this serious incident is part of an ongoing pattern of violations against U.N. staff, including shootings at convoys and arrests by Israeli military at checkpoints, even when prior notifications had been made.
Polio Vaccinations Begin in Northern Gaza Amid Ongoing Challenges
The U.N. Secretary-General's spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, announced that despite the recent incident, vaccinations began in northern Gaza on Tuesday as part of the third phase of the U.N-led campaign, which is expected to continue through Thursday.
Moreover, Philippe Lazzarini revealed on his X account that the vaccination campaign in northern Gaza was successful, with 77,000 children receiving the polio vaccines. "Against all odds & despite the serious incident last night our @UNRWA teams in Northern Gaza vaccinated 77,000 children against #polio."
Earlier this month, the United Nations successfully delivered the first of two doses of oral vaccine to 446,000 children in central and southern Gaza during two operations as part of a campaign to curb the rapid spread of the polio virus. The global organization aims to vaccinate approximately 200,000 more children in northern Gaza during this phase, concluding on Thursday. Following this, a repeat of the entire operation is planned in a month to deliver the second dose of the oral vaccine.
The anti-polio campaign started a little over a week ago, to prevent an outbreak of the rapidly spreading disease among children in Gaza.
Israel Killed 207 UNRWA Workers in Gaza Amid Aggressive War
On August 21, UNRWA stated in a situation report that Gaza remains one of the most perilous locations for humanitarian aid and health workers, with at least 289 aid workers, including 207 UNRWA team members, having been killed, along with 885 health workers.
Since October 7, at least 41,084 people have been killed, and 95,029 have been injured in Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
On September 11, at least 14 individuals, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a UNRWA school that had been turned into a shelter in Al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.
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