Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces on Thursday shot dead more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for aid delivery, but Israel blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over.
At least 112 individuals lost their lives and over 280 sustained injuries in a tragic incident near Gaza City, as confirmed by Palestinian health authorities. This marks the most significant loss of civilian lives in recent weeks.
Hamas expressed concerns that the event might imperil ongoing talks in Qatar aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages in its custody.
When questioned about potential complications to the negotiations, U.S. President Joe Biden stated unequivocally, “I know it will.”
Medics in Gaza voiced their inability to handle the influx of severe injuries, coinciding with Palestinian health authorities reporting a death toll surpassing 30,000 in nearly five months of conflict.
Israel disputed the account provided by officials in Hamas-run Gaza, which has been bombarded by Israeli forces for months since the Palestinian militant group’s deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
The Israeli military said the trucks were operated by private contractors as part of an aid operation that it had been overseeing for the past four nights.
One Israeli official reported two separate incidents occurring several hundred meters apart. In the initial incident, dozens were either killed or injured as they attempted to collect aid from the trucks, resulting in some being trampled or run over.
The official noted a subsequent incident as the trucks departed, where some individuals in the crowd approached troops, prompting them to feel threatened and respond by opening fire.
The official also described the response as “limited” and did not confirm the casualty count provided by Gaza authorities, although he did not provide an alternative figure.
During a subsequent briefing, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed that dozens had been either trampled to death or injured during a struggle to retrieve supplies from the trucks. He mentioned that tanks accompanying the convoy had fired warning shots to scatter the crowd and retreated when the situation started to escalate.
“No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy,” he said.
“The IDF was there conducting a humanitarian operation to secure the humanitarian corridor and allow the aid convoy to reach its designated distribution point.”
The U.S. State Department expressed urgency in seeking information on the incident, echoing similar sentiments from the French foreign ministry.
The White House Characterized The Aid Incident As “Alarming” And “Tragic”
Hamas dismissed the Israeli account, citing evidence from the Health Ministry of direct firing at civilians, including headshots aimed at immediate killing. Witnesses confirmed being targeted without posing a threat to the occupying army.
The White House, referring to the incident as “tragic and alarming,” revealed that President Biden discussed it with Egypt and Qatar leaders, exploring solutions for Israeli hostages and a six-week ceasefire.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned it as an “ugly massacre” by Israel. The French foreign ministry stated Israel’s obligation under international law to protect aid distribution to civilians.
A verified video showed trucks filled with dead bodies and wounded individuals. Another, unverified, depicted bloodstained individuals in a truck, wrapped bodies, and doctors treating patients on a hospital floor.
“We don’t want aid like this. We don’t want aid and bullets together. There are many martyrs,” a man said in one of the videos.
The Pentagon expressed alarm but declined to assign any blame.
“These are human beings that are trying to feed themselves” Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told a news briefing. “We’re all kind of looking at that and saying: ‘What happened here’?”.
The Palestinian Death Toll Has Surpassed 30,000
The Palestinian health authorities reported that 30,035 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and over 70,000 wounded in Israel’s offensive, initiated after the October 7 attack.
Israel claimed that Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and abducted 253 in the same incident. Much of Gaza lies in ruins, with the majority of its 2.3 million residents displaced from their homes at least once.
Aid deliveries to northern Gaza have been sporadic and disorderly, navigating through active military zones to reach areas where many are reportedly starving.
Videos depict desperate crowds clamoring around supply trucks. U.N. and other relief agencies have voiced concerns over Israel’s alleged obstruction or limitation of aid efforts, although Israel denies imposing any restrictions on humanitarian assistance.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. Palestinian aid agency UNRWA, noted that the supply of aid into Gaza has halved since January, as stated during a press briefing in Jerusalem.
