UN convoy in Gaza released after being detained by Israel

PHOTO CAPTION: Trucks containing humanitarian aid from the World Food Organization (WFP) are parked in a location given as northern Gaza Strip, in this handout image released on March 12, 2024. Israeli Army Handout/Handout via REUTERS

UNITED NATIONS/ JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A convoy of United Nations vehicles and staff detained for more than eight hours by Israel in northern Gaza on Monday has been released, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.

The Israeli military said on Monday it detained the convoy after receiving intelligence indicating that a number of "Palestinian suspects" were aboard and that it wanted to question them.

"The convoy was stopped at gun point just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN staff. Heavy damage was caused by bulldozers to the UN armoured vehicles," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on X. "All staff & convoy are now released & back safely in the UN base."

Earlier, the Israeli military contested the assertion that the convoy was carrying polio vaccines for Gaza's children, saying instead its purpose was to "exchange U.N. personnel."

The campaign to vaccinate 640,000 children in Gaza began on Sept. 1, following confirmation from the World Health Organization (WHO) last month that a baby had been partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

Lazzarini disputed Israel's account, saying that the convoy was en route to roll out the vaccination campaign in Gaza City and northern Gaza. He added that he was unsure if the campaign would resume in northern Gaza on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, Maayan Lubell, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Hatem Maher; editing by Kanishka Singh and Deepa Babington)