Red Cross says convoy carrying lifesaving supplies came under fire in Gaza City

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said a humanitarian convoy came under fire in Gaza City on Tuesday but was able to deliver medical supplies to Al-Shifa Hospital.

Two trucks were damaged and a driver was wounded, the organisation said.

It said the convoy included five trucks and two ICRC vehicles and was carrying "lifesaving medical supplies to health facilities including to Al Quds hospital of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, when it was hit by fire."

After the incident, the convoy altered its route and reached Al-Shifa Hospital where it delivered the medical supplies, ICRC said. The ICRC convoy then accompanied six ambulances with critically wounded patients to the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt, the group said.

"These are not the conditions under which humanitarian personnel can work," said William Schomburg, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza. "Ensuring that vital aid can reach medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law."

ICRC, a neutral organisation based in Geneva, has escorted patients and transported freed hostages out of Gaza. 

Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed 10,569 people, including 4,324 children, with 26,475 people wounded.

(Reuters)