The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it fired “warning shots” at a Palestinian mob that rushed a humanitarian convoy early Thursday, leaving more than 100 people dead in the chaos.
IDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said a convoy of 38 trucks came from Egypt and entered Gaza to distribute humanitarian supplies to Gazans in need. He said “thousands” descended on trucks, some violent, pushing and trampling other Gazans to death and “looting humanitarian supplies.”
“The unfortunate accident resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of Gazans,” he said, adding that the tank commander had decided to withdraw because “the situation had gotten out of hand.”
Hagari insisted that “there was no IDF attack on the support convoy.”
“On the contrary, the Israel Defense Forces were conducting humanitarian operations to secure humanitarian corridors and allow aid convoys to reach designated distribution points.”
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Dozens of Palestinians were killed and at least 280 others injured when a humanitarian aid delivery was fired in Gaza City early Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa, File)
The chaos ultimately left more than 100 people dead and 700 injured, bringing the death toll since the start of the Israel-Hamas war to more than 30,000 and an additional 70,000, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. I was injured. The agency does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its statistics, but says women and children account for about two-thirds of the deaths.
Arab countries condemned the violence and accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians in the incident. US President Biden has expressed his concern that ceasefire negotiations will become more difficult.
France and Qatar today brokered an agreement for medical shipments to arrive in Gaza. (AP Photo/Fatima Shubeir)
Fares Afana, head of ambulance services at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said medical workers who arrived at the bloody scene on Thursday found “dozens, maybe hundreds” of people lying on the ground. . He said there were not enough ambulances to transport all the dead and injured, with some being taken to hospitals on donkey carts.
Aid groups say it is nearly impossible to deliver supplies in large parts of Gaza due to difficulties coordinating with Israeli forces, continued hostilities and a breakdown in security where crowds of desperate people overwhelm aid teams. states that it is possible. The United Nations has announced that a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians are facing starvation. Approximately 80% have evacuated from their homes.
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Alarms over famine are rising across Gaza, and international calls for a ceasefire are growing, with the United States, Egypt and Qatar calling for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, and for Hamas to stop fighting during the October Gaza operation. Efforts are being made to reach an agreement for the release of some of the hostages taken. .7 attack.
Smoke rises from a damaged residential building in Khan Yunis, seen from the city of Rafah, after an Israeli attack in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on January 11, 2024. (Abd Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Mediators hope to reach an agreement by around March 10, the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, but so far there has been a public divide between Israel and Hamas over their demands. in the process of.
The Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the war left 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and the militants took about 250 hostages. Hamas and other militants still hold about 100 hostages and about 30 more bodies after releasing most of the other prisoners during a ceasefire in November.
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Since launching its assault on Gaza in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel has been unable to provide food, water, Medicines and other supplies have been prohibited from entering the country. Despite international calls to accept more aid, the number of supply trucks is far fewer than the 500 that came in daily before the war.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
