UNICEF: Israel targeted car belonging to polio vaccination staff in Gaza

An Israeli army quadcopter targeted a personal vehicle belonging to a UNICEF staff member who was taking part in a polio vaccination campaign in Jabalia Al-Nazla, northern Gaza, Anadolu reported the UN body saying on Saturday.

Although the car was damaged, the staff member was unharmed but “deeply shaken”.

Another strike injured three children near a vaccination clinic in Sheikh Radwan as the polio campaign continued in the area, according to the UN agency.

“These attacks on Jabalia, the vaccination clinic, and the UNICEF staff member are yet further examples of the grave consequences of the indiscriminate strikes on civilians in the Gaza Strip,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement on Saturday. She added that the escalation was part of “one of the darkest periods of this terrible war.”

Russell also emphasised that international humanitarian law mandates the protection of civilians and civilian structures, including humanitarian workers and residential buildings.

She noted that “displacement or evacuation orders do not permit any party to the conflict to regard all individuals or objects in an area as military targets.”

UNICEF called on Israel to conduct an “immediate investigation” into the incident involving its staff and urged accountability for those responsible.

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