Palestinian health officials said at least 114 people were killed and more than 280 wounded in the incident near Gaza City, the deadliest civilian death toll in weeks in the five-month war between Israel and Hamas that has killed more than 30,000 people.
Medical staff and relatives care for two victims in the incident. Photo: AP
Hamas said the incident could jeopardize talks in Qatar seeking a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages it is holding. Asked about it, US President Joe Biden said: "I know it would complicate things."
Officials in Gaza have accused Israeli soldiers of killing civilians in the incident. Specifically, Hamas said the Gaza Health Authority had provided "undeniable" evidence that Israeli soldiers "fired directly at civilians."
Israel denies the accusation. An Israeli official said there were two incidents hundreds of metres apart. In the first incident, dozens of people were killed or injured as they tried to get help from trucks and were trampled or run over.
He said the second incident occurred later as the trucks moved away. He said some in the crowd approached the soldiers who felt threatened and were forced to open fire, killing an unknown number. He dismissed the casualty figure given by the Gaza government.
Aerial images show dense crowds of Palestinians surrounding trucks carrying aid. Photo: Israeli Army
In a later briefing, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed only that dozens of people had been trampled to death or injured in the scramble for supplies from trucks.
He said the tanks escorting the trucks then fired warning shots to disperse the crowd and withdrew when the situation began to spiral out of control. “No IDF attack was launched against the aid convoy,” he said.
The US State Department said it was urgently seeking information about the incident, as was the French Foreign Ministry. The White House said Mr Biden discussed the “tragic and alarming incident” with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, as well as ways to keep negotiations for the release of the Israeli hostages and a six-week ceasefire alive.
Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, AP, CNN)
Source
Comment (0)