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full screen Bodies outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd, according to witnesses. Photo: AP/TT
Chaos ensued as aid supplies reached the starving population of Gaza City.
Israeli soldiers then opened fire into the crowd.
More than 100 people have been confirmed dead and more than 750 have been injured, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.
Thousands of people rushed towards the aid deliveries in Gaza City early Thursday morning.
Israel’s military, the IDF, has admitted that it then opened fire. According to AFP sources, the situation was perceived as threatening. The IDF claims the military is responsible for fewer than 10 of the deaths, but says the incident is being investigated, Israeli media reports.
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman, many of the victims were injured in the chaos that broke out even before the Israeli forces opened fire.
A spokesperson for terror-labeled Hamas, on the other hand, states that hundreds have been killed and injured by “bullets from the occupation forces”.
Hospitals lack capacity
Pictures show several bodies lying on the ground. Other images show the chaos that has arisen at the already heavily staffed hospitals.
Kamel Abu Nahel, who is being treated for gunshot wounds at al-Shifa Hospital, told the AP that he and others in the crowd were trying to get food from the convoy when the Israeli soldiers opened fire. The crowd then dispersed – but when people again approached the trucks, the soldiers started shooting again, according to Abu Nahel.
– We have been eating dog food for two months, he says.
The UN and aid organizations are warning of a looming famine in the northern parts of Gaza.
Over 30,000 killed
The UN Security Council has been called to an emergency meeting on Thursday evening over the incident, which has been condemned by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. According to the UN, the aid convoy around which the crowds gathered did not come from any UN agency.
The tragedy has also prompted Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to call for an immediate ceasefire and call on Israel to protect the Palestinian population.
Since the war in Gaza began after the October 7 terrorist attack, over 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health authorities.
Hamas warns that the incident could stand in the way of the talks on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages that are being held.
“The negotiations conducted by the leadership of the movement are not a process that is kept open at the expense of the blood of our people,” Hamas said in a statement, according to Israeli media.