RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) – Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City on Thursday, witnesses said. More than 100 people were killed, the highest death toll since the start of the war. israel-hamas war Health officials say the number is more than 30,000.
Hospital officials initially reported that Israeli forces attacked the crowd, but witnesses later said Israeli forces opened fire as people were unloading flour and canned goods from trucks.
The Israeli military declined to provide a statement on the record regarding its role in the incident.
Gaza City and the surrounding areas in the northern enclave were Israel's first targets. air, sea, and ground attacksIt was released in response to October 7 attack by Hamas. The region suffered widespread devastation and was largely isolated during the conflict.truck carrying food Arrival in northern Gaza The region's first major aid delivery in a month will arrive this week, officials announced Wednesday.
Aid groups say they are unable to provide humanitarian aid in large parts of Gaza due to difficulties coordinating with Israeli forces, continued hostilities and a breakdown in security where crowds of desperate people overwhelm aid teams. He says it has become almost impossible.The United Nations says a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians are Palestinian. face hunger; Approximately 80% have evacuated from their homes.
Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound at Shifa Hospital, said he and others went to the distribution center in the middle of the night after hearing there would be food deliveries. “We have been eating animal feed for two months,” he said.
He said Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd, causing it to disperse and some to hide under cars. After the shooting stopped, they returned to the truck and the soldiers opened fire again. He was shot in the leg, fell, and then an out-of-control truck ran over his leg, police said.
Fares Afana, head of ambulance services at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said medical workers who arrived at the scene on Thursday found “dozens, hundreds” of people lying on the ground. He said there were not enough ambulances to transport all the dead and injured, with some being taken to hospitals on donkey carts.
Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Khidra said at least 104 people were killed and about 760 others were injured. The Ministry of Health described it as a “genocide”.
Separately, the Ministry of Health announced that 30,035 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, with a further 70,457 injured. The statistics do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say women and children account for about two-thirds of the deaths.
The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run Gaza government, Keeps detailed records of casualties. The tallies from past wars closely match those of the United Nations, independent experts, and even Israel itself.
The Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the war left 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and the militants took about 250 hostages.Hamas and other armed groups continue to hold captives Approximately 100 hostages After releasing most of the other prisoners during the November ceasefire, about 30 more bodies were found.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar are working to secure a cease-fire agreement, with international calls for a new cease-fire emerging amid fears of famine across Gaza. Agreement on suspension of fighting between Israel and Hamas And some of the hostages were released.
Mediators hope to reach a deal by March 10, the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, but for now Israel and Hamas remain in place. far away in public according to their own demands.
Meanwhile, U.N. officials have warned that there could be even more casualties if Israel follows through on its pledge to attack. Rafah, the southernmost cityMore than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have fled. They also say a Rafah strike could wipe out what remains of the aid effort.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are believed to remain in northern Gaza, despite Israel ordering the area to be evacuated in October, with many forced to eat animal feed to survive. There is. The United Nations says one in six children under the age of two in the north suffers from acute malnutrition and wasting.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, said about 50 aid trucks entered northern Gaza this week. It is unclear who delivered the aid. Meanwhile, some countries have resorted to airdrops recently.
The World Food Program said earlier this month: We will temporarily suspend delivery to the north. Desperate Palestinians emptied the convoy as the chaos escalated.
Since launching its assault on Gaza in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel has been unable to provide food, water, Medicines and other supplies have been prohibited from entering the country. Despite international calls to accept more aid, the number of supply trucks is far fewer than the 500 that came in daily before the war.
COGAT said Wednesday that Israel does not impose limits on the amount of aid flowing in. Israel says hundreds of trucks are waiting on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom for aid workers to retrieve their cargo, and blames the United Nations agency for the bottleneck.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday that large trucks entering Gaza must be unloaded and transferred to smaller trucks, but there are not enough of them and there is not enough security to distribute aid in Gaza. I objected that it was.
Hamas-run police in the Gaza Strip stopped guarding a convoy after Israeli forces attacked it near an intersection.
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Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
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