UN calls for investigation after Israeli soldiers shoot Palestinians waiting for humanitarian supplies
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At least 100 Palestinians were killed and about 700 injured when Israeli forces opened fire on crowds gathering around aid lorries in northern Gaza.
Witnesses described to media the moment soldiers fired into the crowds on Thursday. Countries including the UAE have strongly condemned the attack.
Nafez Taimeh, from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, travelled to the area with three of his cousins shortly before the massacre.
“We have been suffering for many weeks so we went to get flour and aid after hearing it was arriving from the south,” Mr Taimeh told media.
The four of them waited for hours in front of Israeli military vehicles, including tanks.
“Soldiers watched us every minute. Finally, the aid entered and moved less than 100 metres beyond the Israeli checkpoint,” he said. “We approached in an attempt to secure the aid and food. However, the forces started firing at us directly.
“My cousin was shot in the leg and another bullet hit his stomach, while my other cousin was shot in the hand.”
His two injured cousins, along with hundreds of others injured in the attack, were rushed to Al Shifa Hospital, where one remains in critical condition.
The US called Thursday’s massacre “tremendously alarming” and the UN said the incident required an investigation.
Israel’s military said initially that people were crushed in a struggle to reach the aid. It later said soldiers opened fire on the crowds after feeling threatened.
Other Palestinian accounts suggest people were also run over by aid lorries, while other reports say Israeli tanks were involved in the attack.
It is the latest shocking incident in a conflict that has caused the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians, mostly due to Israeli air strikes. Here’s what we know about the Gaza aid deaths so far:
The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon as a convoy of 38 aid lorries was stopped at a crossroads at Al Nabulsi roundabout, south-west of Gaza city.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered the convoy to receive bags of flour and canned food, with little aid having reached the north of the enclave in recent weeks. The UN this week warned that about a quarter of Gaza’s population was at risk from famine.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees aid deliveries to the enclave halved between January and February. Several western donors have suspended funding to the agency after Israel accused a small number of UNRWA workers were involved in the October 7 attacks. The agency denies the allegations.
A lack of food and essential supplies has left people desperate for aid. Previous convoys have been met by crowds of hundreds of Gazans in need of humanitarian relief.
Drone footage released by Israel after the shooting appeared to show thousands of people gathering at the lorries. Any gunfire into such a dense crowd would have been devastating.
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