UN: Israel endangered lives of staff in polio vaccine convoy

Humanitarian aid workers were surrounded and threatened during an incident involving a UN convoy and the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

"The situation escalated very quickly, with soldiers pointing their weapons directly towards our personnel in the convoy. The UN vehicles were encircled by Israeli forces and shots were fired," UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York about the Monday incident at a checkpoint in central Gaza.

"The convoy was then approached by [Israeli] tanks and a bulldozer, which proceeded to ram the UN vehicles from the front and from the back, compacting the convoy with the UN staff inside," he continued.

While Dujarric described the gunfire as warning shots and said no one was injured, he said that "the conduct of Israeli forces on the ground put the lives of our staff in danger."

The convoy was carrying 12 staff members on their way to support the polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza. The spokesman said that the UN had coordinated its movements with Israel.

The tense situation unfolded when Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint demanded to hold two Palestinian aid workers for questioning.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Monday they had acted on intelligence information "that a number of Palestinian suspects were present in the convoy."

According to Dujarric, the convoy was able to return to its base after more than seven hours, during which time the UN employees were questioned.

Tensions are running high between Israel and the United Nations.

Israel has repeatedly linked staff from the UN's Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA) to terrorist groups, although the UN says Israel has failed to support many of it accusations.

A UN vehicle in a convoy was shot at by Israeli soldiers last month. The army announced an investigation into the allegations.