UN calls for investigation after Israeli soldiers shoot Palestinians waiting for humanitarian supplies
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More than 112 Palestinians were killed and about 700 injured when Israeli forces opened fire on crowds gathering around aid lorries in northern Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry said.
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 said.
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 wounded in the attack, were rushed to Al Shifa Hospital, where one remains in critical condition.
The US called Thursday’s incident “tremendously alarming” and the UN said it needed to be investigated.
Israel’s military initially said 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 near 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, leaving Gazans desperate for aid. Several western donors have suspended funding to UNRWA after Israel alleged that a small number of its workers were involved in the October 7 attacks. The agency denies the allegations.
One witness, identified only as Saber, described the events on Thursday.
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