Hamas terrorists fire on UN teams, block Gaza aid route

COGAT accused Hamas of deliberately trying to block humanitarian infrastructure in order to create a manufactured crisis and generate international pressure on Israel to halt its campaign in Gaza City.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported Saturday that Hamas terrorists opened fire on United Nations personnel preparing a new humanitarian aid corridor in southern Gaza.

According to COGAT, UN staff were working on a route linking Kerem Shalom Crossing to an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone when armed Hamas terrorists threatened them, fired shots, and forced them to withdraw.

The terrorists then seized UN vehicles and used them to build a sand barrier, blocking future truck convoys.

The planned corridor was designed to expand aid deliveries amid the ongoing IDF offensive in Gaza City.

Israeli officials said the new passage was intended to bring in food, medical supplies, tents, and other essentials for civilians relocating southward.

COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian condemned the assault, declaring that “Hamas proves time and again that it has no interest in the well-being of the residents of the Gaza Strip, but only in its terrorist motives.”

He added that even as Israel works with the UN and other international organizations to increase aid, Hamas “is desperate to thwart this, thereby once again abandoning the residents it claims to represent and enslaving them to ensure its survival.”

Images released by COGAT showed bullet damage to a UN vehicle struck during the incident.

The organization accused Hamas of deliberately trying to block humanitarian infrastructure in order to create a manufactured crisis and generate international pressure on Israel to halt its campaign in Gaza City.

The attack followed a similar episode reported the previous day. COGAT said Hamas terrorists “brazenly robbed” four UNICEF trucks in Gaza City that were carrying baby formula, diverting supplies meant for civilians. UNICEF acknowledged that “armed individuals” had taken over the aid shipment.

“I strongly condemn the attack on UN workers by Hamas,” Alian said, vowing Israel would not allow the group to exploit humanitarian concerns for propaganda purposes.

Israel continues to coordinate aid convoys with international partners, while accusing Hamas of systematically sabotaging relief efforts to tighten its grip on the population of Gaza.