Photo : Collected
When world leader António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, UN agencies and all-weather friend of the United States were demanding an immediate ceasefire to cope with the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel deliberately closed their eyes and ears.
Then came the tragic news that at least 112 Palestinians were killed and another 760 people were injured as crowds rushed around the caravan of lorries delivering desperately needed food aid in the small hours of Thursday morning.
Hundreds of people descended on the convoy of vehicles escorted by the Israeli military as it moved along the coast road in the darkness just outside Gaza City. Suddenly, volleys of gunfire overlapped the anguish of the hungry people running after the food aid lorries.
Global condemnation flowed on Friday after Israeli forces in war-ravaged Gaza opened fire on Palestinian civilians scrambling for food aid during a chaotic incident. The tragic incident has given rise to differing claims about what happened and who was responsible for the carnage.
The UN is warning of a looming famine in northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 people are living with meagre food or clean water.
Scores of countries, including Germany, France, China, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and others, officially condemned the carnage and demanded an independent probe into the incident.
The White House also called the deaths “tremendously alarming”. Washington will be monitoring an upcoming investigation closely and “pressing for answers.”
The European Union's (EU) two top chiefs, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen, said they were “shocked” and “deeply disturbed” by the deaths and demanded an investigation.
The Israeli military claimed a “stampede” occurred when thousands of desperate people surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries sources acknowledged that troops had opened fire on the crowd.
Israel Defence Forces have denied the blame for shooting the starving Palestinians in Gaza, but the independent British Broadcasting Corporation – BBC Verify have confirmed a shootout by IDF soldiers had occurred.
BBC Verify has looked at key information—when it emerged and where from. The team “examined social media videos, satellite imagery and IDF drone footage to piece together what we know—and don't know—about what happened so far”.
BBC has verified further footage filmed where the shooting occurred of bodies being taken away on a caravan at the north roundabout.
The video released by the IDF is not one single sequence. It has been edited into four sections. It shows events at two locations, both of which BBC Verify has geolocated. BBC Verify has asked the IDF for the complete footage of the incident.
Messenger/Fameema
