The Israeli Army said on Friday that a ‘firing component’ launched by its Navy accidentally struck a fuel truck belonging to a United Nations agency in Gaza the day before, an incident that led the agency to publicly call for a full investigation.
The United Nations Office for Project Services, which oversees the distribution of fuel in Gaza, said the empty fuel truck was hit on Thursday, around 5 a.m., heading toward the sea, causing damage to the vehicle. There were no injuries.
“Our teams are taking extraordinary risks every day to keep humanitarian operations and life-support services functioning,” said UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva in a statement, calling for an investigation into the incident.
“They shouldn’t have to do this under fire,” he said.
In response to Reuters’ questions, the Israeli army said the incident occurred during defensive naval activity and that a firing component veered off its intended trajectory.
The fuel truck sustained “minor damage,” the military said in a statement. The military did not say what type of ammunition had been fired or what the Navy’s intended target was.
“The incident has been reviewed and the lessons have been learned accordingly,” the army said, without providing details.
The fuel truck was en route to the Kerem Shalom crossing when it was hit, and the vehicle’s movements were coordinated with Israeli authorities in advance, UNOPS said.
