100 Gazans dead in chaotic incident as desperate Palestinians rush for food aid

Authorities in Israel and Gaza have given starkly different accounts of what happened early on Thursday morning.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 112 people died and 280 were injured after Israeli troops opened fire.

In contrast, the Israeli military most of the deaths were caused by a “stampede” and others were crushed by vehicles trying to escape as thousands of Palestinians surrounded a convoy of 30 aid trucks.

The IDF said soldiers did not shoot into the large crowd and only fired on a small group that had threatened a checkpoint.

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces stated: “This morning humanitarian aid trucks entered northern Gaza, residents surrounded the trucks and looted the supplies being delivered. As a result of the pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks, dozens of Gazans were killed and injured.”

US President Joe Biden has said a ceasefire was now unlikely to happen by Monday because the incident would likely complicate negotiations.

The Gaza health ministry condemned what it called a “massacre” before dawn in Gaza City in which 104 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.

A witness told AFP the violence unfolded when thousands of people desperate for food rushed towards aid trucks at the city’s western Nabulsi roundabout.

“Trucks full of aid came too close to some army tanks that were in the area and the crowd, thousands of people, just stormed the trucks,” the witness said, declining to be named for safety reasons.

“The soldiers fired at the crowd as people came too close to the tanks.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also said many of the dead were crushed by the trucks.

“Aid trucks were overwhelmed by people trying to loot and drivers ploughed into the crowd of people, ultimately killing tens of people,” said the spokesman, Avi Hyman.

Aerial images released by the Israeli army showed what it said were scores of Palestinians surrounding aid trucks in Gaza City.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned what it called the “targeting” of unarmed civilians “as a result of the occupation forces’ bombing of humanitarian aid queues in Gaza”.

The incident came after aid agencies had intensified warnings over Gaza’s humanitarian situation, with famine threatening particularly in the north.

Looting of aid trucks had previously occurred in northern Gaza, where residents have taken to eating animal fodder and even leaves to try to stave off starvation.

The Gaza City incident adds to a Palestinian death toll from the war which the health ministry earlier Thursday said had topped 30,000.

Fears of famine

Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been seeking a six-week pause in the war.

Negotiators hope a truce can begin by around March 10 or 11 when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, depending on the lunar calendar.

The proposals reportedly include the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza by militants in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Short of the complete withdrawal Hamas has called for, a source from the group said the deal might see Israeli forces leave “cities and populated areas”, allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.

The World Food Programme said humanitarian groups have been unable to deliver aid to the north for more than a month. The UN agency accused Israel of blocking access.

“If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza,” WFP’s deputy executive director Carl Skau said.

Israeli officials have denied blocking supplies.

Ceasefire concerns

Mr Biden said on Thursday that the United States was checking “competing versions” of the incident in Gaza City.

“We’re checking that right now. There are two competing versions of what happened, I don’t have an answer yet”.

Earlier this week, Mr Biden had predicted a deal was possible by Monday.

“Hope springs eternal,” Mr Biden told reporters when asked about the ceasefire timing, as he left the White House for a pre-election trip to Texas to visit the US-Mexico border.

“I was on the telephone with people in the region … Probably not by Monday, but I’m hopeful.”

Asked if he was worried whether it would complicate the delicate negotiations for a ceasefire, Biden replied: “I know it will.”

The United States has backed Israel since the unprecedented Hamas attack on the country on October 7, but has recently pushed for a ceasefire and a reduction in civilian casualties.

The Palestinian death toll from the war has now topped 30,000, the Gaza health ministry said earlier Thursday.

Hamas’s October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show. Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.dk/mlm