World Food Programme halts Gaza staff movements

The UN food agency has said it is pausing the movement of its staff in the Gaza Strip “until further notice” after its team came under fire near an Israeli checkpoint. In a statement, the World Food Programme said the incident happened at the Wadi Gaza bridge on Tuesday evening as two of its armoured vehicles were escorting a convoy of lorries with humanitarian aid. The WFP said that while nobody was injured, one vehicle was directly hit, despite the convoy being clearly marked and “receiving multiple clearances by Israel”. In Wednesday’s statement, the WFP said: “The team was returning from a mission to Kerem Shalom/Karam Abu Salem with two WFP armoured vehicles after escorting a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian cargo routed to Gaza’s central area.