Over 100 killed as Israel forces shell crowd waiting for aid in Gaza

A video shows the moment Israeli forces fired at Palestinian civilians in Gaza who were gathering around food aid trucks on Al-Rashid Street, trying to collect flour to feed their families as famine ravages the besieged strip. At least 104 were killed and 760 were injured.

Feb 29, 2024

At least 104 Palestinians were killed and 760 others injured when Israeli forces shelled a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City on Thursday, the Health Ministry in the enclave said, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to witnesses, hundreds of Palestinians were waiting to receive aid near Dowar Al-Nablusi when they came under Israeli fire, eyewitnesses said.

The government media office accused the Israeli army of killing the victims “in cold blood” as Israel was aware of their presence in the area “to obtain food and aid”.

“The Occupation had the premeditated intention to commit this horrific massacre,” it said in a statement.

The Israeli army, for its part, claimed that the fatalities occurred as a result of trampling and being struck by the aid trucks.

The army said an initial investigation found that some Palestinians approached an Israeli military checkpoint overseeing the entry of the aid trucks with soldiers firing warning shots and shooting at the legs of Palestinians who continued to move toward the troops.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a 7 October, 2023 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.

Read also:
Switzerland Funds Biased and Fake OPCW Chemical Weapons’ Reporting

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 per cent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

We remind our readers that publication of articles on our site does not mean that we agree with what is written. Our policy is to publish anything which we consider of interest, so as to assist our readers  in forming their opinions. Sometimes we even publish articles with which we totally disagree, since we believe it is important for our readers to be informed on as wide a spectrum of views as possible.