Israel-Gaza: more than 100 dead while waiting for food aid in northern Gaza
Israeli forces reportedly opened fire Thursday morning on starving Palestinians waiting for food aid in the northern Gaza Strip, according to a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
At least 112 people were killed and 760 others injured in the incident at Al-Nabulsi roundabout near Al-Rashid Street, southwest of Gaza City, the spokesperson said. word of the Ministry of Health in a press release, adding that the death toll was expected to rise as dozens of injured were in critical or serious condition. Patients affected by the incident who were admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City suffered injuries comparable to gunshot wounds, were hit by tank artillery shells and were trampled, according to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.
Asked for comment, the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News on Thursday: “Early this morning, as humanitarian aid trucks entered the northern Gaza Strip, Gazans surrounded the trucks and looted the delivered supplies. Dozens of Gazans were injured after being pushed and trampled. The incident is under investigation.
Israeli security officials told ABC News on Thursday that the crowd approached IDF troops to secure the passage of humanitarian trucks in a way that posed a threat to the troops, who responded with live fire. There were no artillery fire, airstrikes or drones during the incident, according to Israeli security officials.
Northern Gaza has been isolated by the Israeli army and almost completely cut off from humanitarian aid for weeks, according to the UN, which continues to warn of the threat of famine for the people still living there.
One of the truck drivers delivering humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, Ahmed Ayad, told ABC News on Wednesday that crowds of people waiting for food aid on Al-Rashid Street were preventing vehicles from reaching their final destination, prompting Israeli soldiers to open fire.
“They are pulling so that we can move forward comfortably,” Ayad said. “But people don’t react to the shooting, so they come towards us and take help from the truck. They wait. Everyone is anxious and the amount (of food) arriving is not enough.”
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the White House was looking into reports that Israeli forces had killed civilians.
“There are two complete versions of what happened. I don’t have an answer yet,” Biden said, adding that it would complicate ceasefire negotiations.
The Biden administration is considering airdropping aid to Gaza, a U.S. official told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Morgan Winsor and Samy Zyara
