Gaza Strip
According to Hamas, 104 people die in a rush for aid deliveries – Israeli army fires shots
Israeli soldiers opened fire on a crowd during an aid delivery in Gaza (archive photo).
© Mohammed Talatene / DPA
There was a mass rush in Gaza as trucks carrying aid supplies arrived. Israeli soldiers then opened fire.
After an Israeli military operation during the distribution of aid supplies in the city Gaza on Thursday, the authorities led by the radical Islamic group Hamas reported at least 104 dead. Another 760 people were injured during the rush to deliver aid, a spokesman for the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the Gaza Strip said. He spoke of a “massacre.”
Israeli security sources said the soldiers opened fire because they believed the crowd “posed a threat.” The Israeli army said the soldiers fired at the legs of charging Palestinians, hitting about 10.
A witness told AFP that the violence occurred at a roundabout in the west of the city. “The trucks full of aid got too close to some army tanks that were nearby and the crowd, thousands of people, just rushed toward the trucks,” the witness said. “The soldiers fired at the crowd when people got too close to the tanks.”
Gaza residents: aid supplies looted?
The Israeli army said in an initial statement that residents had “surrounded the trucks and looted the delivered goods.” Dozens of people were injured “because they were pushed and trampled.” The incident is being investigated.
Fighting in the Middle East
In ruins: This is what the north of the Gaza Strip looks like after seven weeks of war
The Gaza war has now been going on for almost five months. It was triggered by the major attack on Israel by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on October 7th. Hundreds of Hamas fighters committed atrocities primarily against civilians, killing around 1,160 people and abducting around 250 hostages to the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli figures. According to Israeli information, Hamas is still holding 130 hostages in the Gaza Strip, although 31 of them are now believed to be dead.
Israel launches military action against Hamas
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has since taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip, with the declared aim of destroying Hamas. According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 30,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since then. Aid organizations warn of famine in the Gaza Strip.