Israel-Gaza struggle: More than 100 reported killed in crowd close to Gaza support convoy

At least 112 Palestinians are stated to have been killed and 760 injured making an attempt to get desperately wanted support in Gaza.

Crowds descended on a convoy of lorries on the coastal street south-west of Gaza City, within the presence of Israeli tanks.

Israel’s army say tanks fired warning photographs however didn’t strike the lorries, including lots of the lifeless have been trampled or run over.

Hamas rejected Israel’s account, saying there was “simple” proof of “direct firing at residents”.

The UN Security Council scheduled a closed-door emergency assembly to debate the incident, throughout which Algeria – the Arab consultant on the physique – put ahead a draft assertion blaming Israeli forces for “opening fireplace”.

While 14 of the council’s 15 members supported the movement, the US blocked it, in accordance with AP information company, citing Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour, who spoke to reporters afterwards. US envoy Robert Wood stated the information of the incident remained unclear.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident, saying “the determined civilians in Gaza want pressing assist, together with these within the north the place the UN has not been in a position to ship support in additional than every week”.

Earlier US President Joe Biden expressed concern the incident would complicate efforts by mediators to dealer a brief ceasefire within the struggle between Israel and Hamas whereas France stated “fireplace by Israeli troopers towards civilians making an attempt to access meals” was “unjustifiable”.

Hamas has warned that talks in Qatar to attempt to safe a brand new ceasefire alongside aspect the discharge of Israeli hostages it’s holding may now be jeopardised.

Israeli aerial footage exhibits a whole lot of individuals on and across the lorries, whereas graphic movies posted on-line present our bodies loaded on to emptied support lorries and a donkey cart.

Thursday’s incident took place shortly after 04:45 (02:45 GMT) on the Nabulsi roundabout, on the south-western fringe of Gaza City.

A convoy of 30 lorries carrying Egyptian support was making its method north alongside what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a “humanitarian hall” when it was surrounded by civilians, with folks climbing on to the vehicles.

“Some started violently pushing and even trampling different Gazans to loss of life, looting the humanitarian provides,” stated the IDF’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari. “The unlucky incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured.”

Israeli tanks, he stated, “cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a couple of warning photographs” however pulled again “when the a whole lot grew to become hundreds and issues received out of hand”.

“No IDF strike was carried out in the direction of the help convoy,” he stated, insisting the Israeli army had been making an attempt to assist the help convoy attain its vacation spot.

A Palestinian witness, talking to the BBC, described panic within the crowd and among the many drivers, who tried to maneuver ahead. Most of those that died have been run over, the witness added.

Dozens of casualties in a essential or extreme situation have been delivered to the close by al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the place medics have been unable to deal with the quantity and severity of circumstances.

One man on the hospital who was cradling the physique of his lifeless good friend, Tamer Shinbari, instructed the BBC he had gone to the Nabulsi roundabout hoping to get a bag of flour for his household. He stated Israeli troopers had opened fireplace “and the help lorry ran over the our bodies”.

All or many of the casualties being handled at two different hospitals, Kamal Adwan and al-Awda, have been stated by officers there to have bullet or shrapnel wounds.

The incident got here hours earlier than Gaza’s well being ministry introduced that greater than 30,000 folks, together with 21,000 youngsters and girls, had been killed in Gaza because the begin of the present battle on 7 October. Some 7,000 have been lacking and 70,450 have been injured, it stated.

The UN is warning of a looming famine within the north of the territory, the place an estimated 300,000 persons are dwelling with little meals or clear water.

The Israeli army launched a large-scale air and floor marketing campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and others – after its gunmen killed about 1,200 folks in southern Israel and took 253 hostages.

Reacting to Thursday’s incident, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a rival of Hamas primarily based within the occupied West Bank, accused Israeli forces of a “heinous bloodbath”.

A spokesman for UN Secretary General António Guterres stated he condemned the incident and referred to as once more for an “quick humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional launch of all hostages”.

The north of Gaza suffered widespread devastation after being the main target of the primary part of the Israeli floor offensive and has been largely minimize off from humanitarian help for a number of months.

Last week, the World Food Programme stated it had been compelled to droop support deliveries to the realm after its first convoy in three weeks had been surrounded by crowds of hungry folks near an Israeli checkpoint and had then confronted gunfire in Gaza City.

On Tuesday, a senior UN support official warned that no less than 576,000 folks throughout the Gaza Strip – one quarter of the inhabitants – confronted catastrophic ranges of meals insecurity and one in six youngsters beneath the age of two within the north have been affected by acute malnutrition and losing.

Ten youngsters died from dehydration and malnutrition at hospitals in northern Gaza in recent days, the well being ministry stated.