Several Palestinians have died and others were injured in northern Gaza Thursday as humanitarian aid trucks arrived to deliver aid, according to official statements.
Israeli authorities claimed “dozens of Gazans were killed and injured” due to “pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks” as residents “surrounded the trucks and looted the supplies being delivered,” according to a tweet by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Palestinian authorities claimed “the heinous massacre carried out by the Israeli occupation tanks and artillery this morning against hundreds of innocent civilians who were waiting for the arrival of aid trucks … resulted in the killing of over 104 persons,” according to a statement in the state-run media.
The IDF released aerial footage appearing to show crowds swarming and clambering onto a moving convoy of vehicles.
תיעוד אווירי של המבצע להכנסת סיוע הומניטארי לצפון רצועת עזה, המראה כיצד ההמון פלסטיני התנפל על המשאיות וכתוצאה מכך נהרגו עשרות מצפיפות, דוחק ודריסה>> pic.twitter.com/a7DqU9kKFB
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 29, 2024
Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman called the images of the incident “tragic” and said the IDF had launched an investigation in a video published by Sky News. (RELATED: Videos Appear To Show Open Protests In Hamas-Controlled City)
“My understanding currently is that lorries were coming in with aid from the Rafah crossing — which connects Egypt and the Gaza Strip — and as those lorries of aid were coming in, they were overpowered — they were overwhelmed, I should say — by Gazan civilians trying to violently loot from those aid trucks, and at some point the driver who was himself a Gazan civilian plowed into the crowd,” he added.
“We are doing our absolute upmost to get as much aid as possible into the Gaza Strip,” says Israeli Government Spokesman @AviHyman
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/1XMwqRqtei
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 29, 2024
An Israeli military official said there were two separate incidents, Reuters reported. The first incident was that of a crowd of Gazans thronging the aid trucks, and “dozens” died or were injured as people trampled on one another and trucks ran over some, he reportedly said. The second incident involved some of the Gazans in the first incident approaching toward Israeli forces, who then fired weapons in “a limited response,” he added, according to the outlet.
“The soldiers fired warning shots in the air and then fired towards those who posed a threat and did not move away,” the official told reporters, Reuters reported. “This is what we understand. We’re continuing to review the circumstances.”
Neither the casualty figures from the IDF nor those from the Palestinian authorities could be independently verified as the incident is a developing story.