Dozens, maybe hundreds dead. In Gaza, the distribution of food aid turned into a bloody scene on Thursday 29 February, sparking outrage and calls for the international community to establish the truth.
The Health Ministry described the situation in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip “Genocide” And at least 112 are reported dead and 760 injured. Earlier, Al-Shifa Hospital Emergency Director, Amjad Aliwa, announced that 50 people had been killed and more than 120 injured. “Thousands of civilians including women and children after firing by occupying forces”. running towards “Help Truck”.
While identifying “Limited Shots” Israeli soldiers by emotion “threat”An Israeli army officer said “A stampede during which dozens of residents were killed and injured, some run over by aid trucks”.
In the evening, Israeli army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, confirmed that Israeli soldiers had not carried out the action. “Neither tank fire nor air attack towards convoys”. According to him, “Israeli Army Securing Humanitarian Corridor” To send aid to residents of the northern Gaza Strip, and “ (his) “The drones were only in the air to give a clear picture from above.” describes “Having and Crushing” who died “Dozens of Gazans”, Mr. Hagari said that the Israeli army had “tried to disperse the crowd with a few warning shots”.
“Anarchy”
Witnesses told Agence France-Presse (AFP) of scenes during which thousands of people rushed to aid trucks. “Nablus Roundabout”West of Gaza City. “We were on Al-Rachid Street and suddenly tanks attacked us. There were aid-filled packages. People rushed to collect them due to scarcity of food and flour. It was chaos, there were crowds of people, but the occupying forces continued to fire at us, there were many martyrs and victims.”A witness declined to be identified.
Another witness, Kamel Abu Nahel, told The Associated Press that Israeli soldiers fired into the crowd as people removed boxes of flour and canned goods from trucks, scattering them, with some hiding under cars. After the shooting, people returned to the truck and the soldiers, he said, opened fire again. Kamel Abu Nahel described being shot in the leg and falling down, after which a moving truck crushed his leg, he said. Another witness, Alaa Abu Daiya, said that Israeli soldiers opened fire and a tank fired a shell.
Doctors who arrived at the scene were found “dozens or hundreds” According to Fares Afana, head of the ambulance service at Kamal Advan Hospital, the number of people lying on the ground. According to him, there were not enough ambulances to collect all the dead and injured, some were taken to hospitals in donkey carts.
Josep Borrell condemned the “new massacre”.
Asked about the dozens of deaths in Gaza on Thursday, US President Joe Biden responded: “We’re looking into it right now. There are two conflicting versions of what happened. I don’t have an answer yet. “We’ve been in contact with the Israeli government since early this morning and understand that an investigation is underway, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller then told the press. We will be monitoring this investigation closely and pressing for answers. »
Mr. Biden, who said this week that he hoped for a cease-fire in Gaza by Monday, also walked back his statement, declaring that a break in hostilities would not happen. “Maybe not from here.” Until this date.
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Emmanuel Macron made the announcement during the night from Thursday to Friday At X, his “Deep outrage at images reaching us from Gaza where civilians are being targeted by Israeli soldiers”.. Head of State “Express (s)It condemns these shots in the strongest possible terms and calls for truth, justice and respect for international law. » Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs had made such an estimate “Firing by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to get food is unjustified”.
Head of European Diplomacy, Josep Borrell, a “The New Massacre” and death “Totally unacceptable”. “Depriving people of humanitarian assistance is a grave violation” Underlining international humanitarian law, Mr Borrell demanded “Uninterrupted Humanitarian Access to Gaza”.
“Life is leaving Gaza at an alarming rate”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Condemned the events. “We don’t know exactly what happened. But whether these people were killed by Israeli fire, whether they were trampled by mobs or run over by trucks, these are acts of violence that are somehow connected to this conflict.”said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Mr. Guterres, describing the death “Terrible Circumstances”.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors on Thursday evening. “This terrible massacre is proof that as long as the Security Council is paralyzed and the veto imposed, the Palestinians pay with their lives”The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, announced to Pres. “The Security Council must say “enough”.he insisted. If they have the courage and determination to prevent these massacres from happening again, we need a ceasefire. » Despite the American president agitating behind the scenes to achieve a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, the United States on February 20 blocked a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, for the third time.
This time, Algeria proposed a draft declaration that expressed “deep concern” Of its 15 members, a text seen by AFP shows the responsibility of “Israeli forces (WHO) fired ». According to a diplomatic source, the United States objected, without completely closing the door to adopting the resolution.
“The parties are working on the wording to see if we can come to a declaration”said Deputy American Ambassador, Robert Wood. “The problem is we don’t have all the facts”He added, affirming that he wanted to find a formulation that guaranteed that “Necessary investigations have been carried out as to the offence”.
“Life is leaving Gaza at an alarming rate”The UN humanitarian chief had earlier expressed outrage. “I am outraged by reports that hundreds of people were killed and injured today during a humanitarian aid transfer operation west of Gaza City. (Thursday) »Written on Martin Griffiths social network.
2.2 million people are at risk of drought
The United Nations (UN) estimates that 2.2 million people, the majority of Gaza’s population, are at risk of famine, particularly in the north, where destruction, fighting and looting make it nearly impossible to deliver humanitarian aid.
According to the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), just over 2,300 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip in February, a drop of nearly 50% from January and a daily average of 82 trucks per day. According to the UN, before the war began on October 7, an average of about 500 trucks entered the Gaza Strip per day, when the needs of the local population were low.
Palestinians in Gaza have told AFP in recent days that they are forced to eat leaves or fodder for livestock or slaughter draft animals for food. Andrea Di Dominico, head of the UN Humanitarian Aid Coordination Office for the Palestinian Territories, told AFP recently that on several occasions when food convoys came north from Gaza, “Thousands of people blocked unloading trucks at the risk of being shot”.
