At least 112 Palestinians have lost their lives, with over 750 sustaining injuries, as Israeli forces unleashed gunfire upon hundreds gathered for food assistance southwest of Gaza City.
When And What Happened?
At 02:30 GMT on Thursday, individuals gathered at Harun al-Rashid Street in Gaza, anticipating the arrival of aid trucks carrying flour.
A convoy of aid trucks traversed the checkpoint, heading north, while crowds began to amass in large numbers.
According to the Israeli military, 31 trucks entered Gaza, with nearly 20 proceeding to the north on Monday and Tuesday.
As people gathered, eagerly awaiting essential aid, they faced gunfire from various military apparatus, as reported.
According to the Associated Press, individuals resorted to pulling boxes of flour and canned goods off the trucks.
Following a pause in the initial round of gunfire, people cautiously approached the trucks again, only to be met with another barrage of bullets from the soldiers.
Where Did The Shooting Take Place?
The Palestinian authorities specified that the incident occurred on al-Rashid Street at the Nabulsi Roundabout, situated on the southwestern side of Gaza City.
This area is in northern Gaza, where food deliveries have been infrequent. The first shipments in over a month arrived earlier this week.
This incident occurred just one day after Carl Skau, the deputy executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), warned the United Nations Security Council that over 500,000 people, or one in four individuals, were facing the risk of famine. Additionally, one in every six children under the age of two was deemed acutely malnourished.
How Do Palestinian Witnesses Describe What Happened?
Palestinians in Gaza asserted that Israeli forces perpetrated a massacre by opening fire on a gathering of people awaiting urgently needed food assistance.
Witnesses reported that the stampede occurred due to Israeli gunfire, with trucks inadvertently rolling over wounded individuals, further contributing to the death toll.
What Did The Israeli Military Say?
The Israeli military stated that the trucks were operated by private contractors as part of an aid initiative supervised by them for the past four nights. However, the Israeli narrative of events shifted throughout the day.
About The Current Situation With Aid In Gaza: How Is It?
Since the onset of the conflict, aid agencies assert that Israel has been prolonging deliveries, a claim denied by Israel. It is reported:
“The risk of famine is exacerbated by the challenge of bringing critical food supplies into Gaza in adequate quantities, and the extremely difficult working conditions faced by our staff on the ground.”
“They encountered delays at checkpoints, came under gunfire and other forms of violence, experienced food looting en route, and upon arrival, were swarmed by desperately hungry individuals,”
A month ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled that Israel must take all necessary measures to prevent genocidal acts in the region.
However, human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, allege that Israel has “failed to undertake even the most basic measures to comply.”
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of trucks has decreased by 40 percent since the ICJ ruling.
Reactions
The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned what it termed an “ugly massacre conducted by the Israeli occupation army.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the incident.
I condemn Thursday’s incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid.
The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the @UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 1, 2024
The US government stated it was seeking clarification from Israel, although it refrained from directly condemning the killings.
“Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed over the course of this conflict, not just today, but over the past nearly five months,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press briefing.
“We have been in touch with the Israeli Government since early this morning and understand that an investigation is underway. We will be monitoring that investigation closely and pressing for answers,” Miller added.
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack as well.
“We condemn the Israeli occupation forces’ brutal targeting of the gathering of Palestinians who were waiting for aid on the Nabulsi roundabout near Al-Rashid Street in Gaza,” it said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia called on the international community “to take a firm stance by obliging Israel to respect international humanitarian law”.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his government would suspend purchases of weapons from Israel.
“Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Netanyahu,” Petro said. “This is called genocide and is reminiscent of the Holocaust even if the world powers do not like to recognise it. The world must block Netanyahu. Colombia suspends all purchases of weapons from Israel,” he said on X.
