President Michael D Higgins condemns attacks on aid convoys providing humanitarian relief to Gaza

President Michael D Higgins has condemned attacks on aid convoys providing humanitarian relief to Gaza.

In a forthright statement, President Higgins referenced the killing of a UN staff member in Rafah and the destruction of food aid by a “mob” at the Tarqumiya checkpoint.

President Higgins said: “All those who support human rights, humanitarian relief, the United Nations and its Charter must be appalled at the attacks which are being witnessed on aid convoys providing vital humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

“Two incidents on Monday alone demonstrated the appalling circumstances which aid workers are facing. In Rafah, a vehicle clearly marked with the United Nations emblem came under fire, killing a UN staff member and injuring others.

“On the same day at the Tarqumiya checkpoint west of Hebron in the West Bank, a convoy was surrounded by a mob with food packages thrown on the road and bags of grain ripped open. These attacks are taking place at a time when people are suffering from starvation.

“These strikes led to at least 31 aid workers and those with them being killed or injured. In total, the United Nations has said that more than 250 aid workers have been killed in Gaza over the course of the conflict.

“On a matter like this there can be no equivocation, it must be condemned by all those who believe in humanitarian principles. Silence on this matter would reflect badly on any member of the European Union.”

The latest attack on food aid trucks took place on Monday at the Tarqumiya checkpoint west of Hebron in the West Bank.

Israeli protesters blocked food aid trucks coming from Jordan to Gaza, which has now entered “full-blown famine” according to the executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme.

Cindy McCain said famine was now moving south in Gaza.

She added: “Severe Israeli restrictions on humanitarian deliveries to the territory that has long relied on outside food assistance have pushed civilians in the most isolated, devastated part of Gaza over the brink.”

The White House condemned the Tarqumiya checkpoint food aid attack as “a total outrage”.

The group allegedly behind the attack said it was demonstrating against the continued detention of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Footage of the incident, widely shared on social media, showed protestors throwing boxes from lorries to the ground, then trampling on them.

One protester told AFP news agency she was at the checkpoint on Monday because she heard aid trucks were on “their way to the hands of the Hamas, who are trying to kill other soldiers and other Israeli citizens”.

Hana Giat said “no food should go into Gaza” until “Israeli hostages are returned “healthy and alive”.