Soldiers targeted ‘several suspects’, Israeli army says

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l’“examination”

The tragedy in Gaza on February 29, during which, according to Hamas authorities, 115 people were killed around a humanitarian aid convoy, showed that Israeli soldiers “Accurate shots fired at several suspects”The Israeli army said on Friday.

“A command review found that (Israeli) soldiers did not open fire on the humanitarian convoy, but they did open fire on a number of suspects who approached (Israeli soldiers) and posed a threat”

writes Lashkar in a press release.

According to a witness interviewed by AFP that day, violence erupted as thousands of desperate people gathered in western Gaza City in search of food. As the aid fleet passes by “Thousands of people attacked (the) trucks” And “Soldiers opened fire on the (Israeli) crowd because people were getting too close to the tanks”This witness suggested.

On the evening of the tragedy, the Israeli military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, emphasized the fact that the Israeli military was protecting the convoy, chartered by Egypt according to him, so that it would arrive safely. port, in the north. of the Gaza Strip, where the UN fears imminent famine after a five-month war between Israel and Hamas.

115 people were killed

According to the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Islamic Movement, which seized the Gaza Strip on the first day of the war, its attacks, which began on October 7, have left more than 1,160 people dead on the Israeli side, 115 killed, Israeli in the February 29 drama. by shots, the circumstances of which are still unclear, and which sparked a wave of international outrage.

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But the convoy was attacked at 4:30 am (2:30 am GMT) on the coastal road west of Gaza City, according to the Israeli military. “robbed” by “A crowd of about 12,000 Gazans”. “While the looting was going on, (a) stampede and the fact that people were driven away by trucks caused heavy casualties to civilians”, writes Lashkar. In addition, “Dozens of Gazans advanced towards the nearest (Israeli) soldiers, several meters away, thus posing a real threat” For these soldiers.

“At this point, the soldiers opened preemptive fire to keep the suspects at bay. As the suspects advanced towards them, the soldiers fired specifically at some of the suspects to eliminate the threat.The army’s press release suggested, without specifying the possible number of deaths caused by these shots, or in the stampede or run over by the truck.