JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - UN humanitarians in Gaza have suspended operations at night for at least 48 hours in response to the killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen.
The move will allow for further evaluation of the security issues that impact both personnel on the ground and the people they are trying to serve, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news briefing on Wednesday.
The UN World Food Program, or WFP, said daytime operations are continuing, including ongoing efforts to get food aid convoys into northern Gaza.
Seven World Central Kitchen staff were killed in multiple Israeli airstrikes on their convoy while departing their warehouse in Deir al Balah in central Gaza Tuesday.
The not-for-profit non-governmental organization, devoted to providing meals in conflict zones, has suspended its operations in Gaza after the deadly strike.
World Central Kitchen and other charities have suspended aid operations which has had a 'double impact' in the Gaza Strip, Dujarric told reporters in New York.
'This horrific incident highlights the extreme danger under which WHO colleagues and our partners are working - and will continue to work,' said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva.
Tedros underlined the need for safe humanitarian access through establishment of an effective and transparent mechanism for deconfliction. He also called for 'more entry points, including in northern Gaza, cleared roads, and predictable and expedited passage through checkpoints.
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