While speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Unrwa Director of Communications Juliette Touma said that Israeli naval gunfire hit a food convoy while it was waiting to move into northern Gaza, where according to her the “highest pockets of starvation and hunger” were identified by the UN. Touma also pointed out that this was the third time a humanitarian convoy led by by Unrwa was hit. Israeli allegations that 12 out of the 30,000 employees at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa) were involved in the attacks by Palestinian fighters on southern Israel on 7 October are still under investigation.

The following was the initial report and image of truck used from:

Israeli naval gunfire hit a food convoy waiting to move into northern Gaza, said Thomas White, the director of Unrwa affairs in Gaza, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. “Thankfully, no one was injured,” said White. “We CANNOT deliver humanitarian aid under fire. Safe and sustainable humanitarian access is URGENTLY needed everywhere including to the North of Gaza,” said the Unrwa post. The head of the UN agency is visiting three Gulf countries this week, days after several key donors to the organisation paused funding. Israel has alleged that 12 out of the 30,000 employees at Unrwa were involved in the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October. Since then, at least nine countries including the US, UK and Germany, have suspended financing the agency. Israeli officials are planning to replace the agency in the Gaza Strip with other organisations, Israeli news site Ynet reported on Sunday.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel on Wednesday to prioritise the safety of civilians in Gaza's Rafah but refrained from explicitly advising against military actions in the densely populated city.

Israeli jets pummelled Rafah with a series of air strikes on Wednesday morning, as attacks on the small border town increased in recent days.

Rafah, which now shelters over 1.3 million Palestinians displaced from elsewhere in Gaza, was previously designated a "safe" area by the Israeli army. However, aid workers warn that the Israeli military's reported plans to invade the city could put the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk