The top U.S. diplomat involved in humanitarian assistance for Gaza said on Friday that Israeli forces earlier this month killed Palestinian police protecting a U.N. aid convoy in the enclave’s embattled southern city of Rafah.
As a result, Palestinian police have refused to protect convoys, hampering aid deliveries inside Gaza because of threats from criminal gangs, said David Satterfield, Washington’s special regional envoy for humanitarian issues.
“With the departure of police escorts, it has been virtually impossible for the U.N. or anyone else, Jordan, the UAE, or any other implementer to safely move assistance in Gaza because of criminal elements,” Satterfield told an event hosted by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Satterfield said the police escorts include Hamas members but also officers with no direct affiliation to the militant group.
Israel struck Palestinian police escorting Gaza aid, says US envoy
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