Hassan EslayehA boy transports victims on a donkey cart
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:51
Dozens and possibly more than a hundred people were killed during the distribution of aid in the north of the Gaza Strip early this morning. What exactly happened has not yet been clarified.
Palestinian authorities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank say the Israeli army fired on the waiting crowds near Gaza City. Also news channel Al Jazeera reports that Israel started shooting.
A reporter on the scene says that after the first salvos, Israeli tanks advanced and rolled over bodies of dead and wounded people. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs speaks of a massacre.
Many victims arrive in hospitals:
Crowds in Gaza hospitals
The Israeli military initially said it was not aware of any bombing in the area. Thereafter it stated that a violent mob looted the aid trucks, trampling dozens of people.
That statement only mentions injured people. In a later message on X, the Israeli army stated that dozens of people were killed in the crowds.
The army posted these images that allegedly show this:
Figures on the number of dead and injured vary. CNN reported based on aid organization the Red Crescent and sources at local hospitals in Gaza that at least 53 people have been killed and 120 injured.
The Health Ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, reports 104 dead and 760 injured. Hospitals in the area, which can barely function due to shortages of everything, cannot cope with the flow of injured people, according to Al Jazeera.
The north of the Gaza Strip has come under heavy fire in recent months and has been extensively destroyed. The area has also become cut off from the rest of Gaza due to the war. Just this week, for the first time in a month, a large food convoy arrived, reports AP news agency.
2024-02-29 12:51:06
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