Humanitarian organizations have been warning since January of the chaos that the Israeli army is allowing to spread in the besieged Gaza enclave. Starvation and hundreds of deaths and injuries after the distribution of humanitarian aid organized by the army on Thursday 29 February confirmed their predictions.
Emmanuel Macron has already asked “Independent Investigation” and expressed ” (s)“Strong condemnation of these shots, and calls for truth, justice and respect for international law.” for its part, Stéphane Sjourne, the minister for Europe and foreign affairs, described the riot on Friday morning at France Inter,“unsafe” and D’“Inappropriate”.
The convoy was chartered without any dialogue with the United Nations agencies that provide most of the aid to Gaza, with the civil administration that Israel has absorbed into Hamas, and without carrying residents. Before Thursday morning, rumors of an imminent handover had spread in Gaza City. When the first of these 38 trucks crossed the Israeli checkpoint south of the metropolis, hundreds of men and teenagers waited for them on the rutted boulevard that ran along the seafront.
Soon thousands of them were running towards Lod trying to grab a bag of flour or a box of aid. An amateur video, filmed at night and broadcast by the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera, shows a crowd retreating, while the sharp cracks of gunfire bursts echo intermittently. The Israeli army placed soldiers on the side of the road “Secure the Corridor”. The local health ministry, controlled by Hamas, claims that these soldiers opened fire on the crowd and left a huge toll: 112 Palestinians dead and 760 wounded.
“Gunshot Wounds”
The Israeli military, for its part, denies firing in the direction of the convoy. she mentions “Dozens dead and wounded (…) on the rampage.” She also claimed that truck drivers forced their way, crushing civilians. However, she admitted that the soldiers opened fire on Gazans who were close to their positions.
Al-Awda Hospital, one of the city’s facilities, received 176 injured people, according to its executive director, Dr. Mohammad Salha. “We have seen gunshot wounds in all parts of the body, arms, legs, abdomen or chest”It describes the world by telephone. He clarifies that he saw no injuries indicating a stampede.
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