The incident involving a delivery of aid supplies to northern Gaza with many deaths is causing sharp criticism and raising many questions. Egypt speaks of a “heinous crime” and the UN Security Council has been convened.
After many people died near an aid convoy in the north of the Gaza Strip, the US government is pressing the Israeli government for answers. An investigation into what happened will be closely monitored and “pressed for answers,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
There is no reliable information about what happened, said Miller. The aerial footage shows that the people in the Gaza Strip are incredibly desperate. “Too many Palestinians died today, and that’s true for too many days since October 7th.”
The incident shows why a quick agreement on a ceasefire and the release of the Hamas hostages is necessary, emphasized Miller. This “tragedy” could make the negotiations more complicated. But we will continue to work to reach an agreement. “If Hamas would lay down its arms, this could all be over today,” emphasized Miller.
A “tragic and alarming incident”
According to the White House, US President Joe Biden also spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. In the phone calls, everyone involved regretted the loss of life among the civilian population, the White House said. It is a “tragic and alarming incident”. It was agreed that this incident underscored the urgency of concluding negotiations as soon as possible and expanding humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.
Egypt described the killing of numerous Palestinians as a crime. “It is a heinous crime to attack peaceful civilians who are rushing to receive their share of humanitarian aid,” said a statement released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. “It is a blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law and also shows disregard for the sanctity of human life.”
Germany announces further humanitarian aid
Given the desperate situation of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Israel to “immediately allow safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid.” The Israeli army must “ensure that the distribution of humanitarian aid can be successful following the collapse of public order in large parts of the Gaza Strip,” said Baerbock. The situation of the people in the Gaza Strip can hardly be described in words.
The minister announced that Germany wanted to increase its humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by a further 20 million euros. If necessary, Germany would like to participate together with other countries, especially Jordan, in dropping humanitarian aid from the air.
Northern Gaza cut off from UN aid
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the incident in clear terms. “The desperate civilians in Gaza urgently need help, including those in the besieged north, where the United Nations has been unable to provide assistance for more than a week,” it said.
The United Nations is calling for an investigation, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said. “There will be a time of responsibility,” added Stephane Dujarric. United Nations employees were not present at the incident, they do not know all the facts and are aware that there are different accounts. “As far as we are concerned, we do not know exactly what happened and whether people were hit and died by Israeli gunfire, whether they were crushed by a crowd or whether they were run over by trucks,” UN spokesman Dujarric continued.
In view of the events, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was called. According to diplomatic sources, the meeting was requested by Algeria and will take place behind closed doors.
The Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip said more than 100 people were killed and several hundred injured in the incident in Gaza. The Israeli army had said that numerous residents had crowded around arriving trucks with relief supplies in order to loot them. Dozens were killed and injured as a result of jostling and crowding. The information cannot be independently verified.