OOOPS!!! Must have been another accident!

Israeli troops kill U.N. truck driver at Gaza crossing

By Shashank Bengali | McClatchy Newspapers
JERUSALEM — Israeli soldiers opened fire Thursday on a truck attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Gaza Strip, killing one United Nations-contracted driver and seriously wounding another, U.N. officials said.

The shooting occurred at the Erez checkpoint, the main entrance used by relief agencies to funnel badly needed food and medical supplies into Gaza, where Israel is waging a devastating, 13-day-long military campaign against the militant Islamic group Hamas.

U.N. officials said that they had contracted the truck to deliver supplies into Gaza, and that the Israeli military had approved the delivery. But Israeli ground troops, which control the Erez checkpoint, fired on the truck. It wasn’t clear what caused the Israeli soldiers to open fire, and Israeli military officials weren't immediately available for comment.

Relief officials said that as a result of the shooting, Israel closed the Erez checkpoint. It was unclear whether any relief trucks would be allowed to enter Gaza on Thursday, despite what humanitarian agencies describe as a worsening humanitarian crisis.

"It's a tragic example of how impossible it’s becoming to deliver assistance here," John Ging, the top U.N. refugee official in Gaza, told the Al Jazeera television network. "We cannot continue in these circumstances where aid workers…are being killed and injured, even when they are in direct coordination with the Israeli liaison people, who are supposed to ensure their safety."

It was at least the second time in recent days that Palestinian relief workers contracted by the U.N. had been killed. On Monday, Israeli shells landed near the parking lot of a Palestinian company contracted by the U.N. World Food Program to deliver food supplies in Gaza. Two employees were killed and three severely wounded, according to WFP spokeswomen Barbara Conte, who said that the relief workers were not the target of the Israeli strike.

Stephanie wrote:My husband forbids me to go. We have discussed it. He says our son is too young for his mother to put herself in such peril. He is, of course, correct. Thanks for the offer though.

The UN claims they had been in contact with the Israelis and had permission for that truck to pass. Are you saying they are lying?

Stephanie wrote:

The UN claims they had been in contact with the Israelis and had permission for that truck to pass. Are you saying they are lying?

Stephanie wrote:So now, in addition to having drivers too stupid to stop for inspection, the UN is in the business of smuggling arms into Gaza? Is that your contention?