Gaza: deliberate or not?
• Authorities in Gaza claim a ‘massacre’, while Israel calls deaths accidental
Health authorities in Gaza said on Thursday Israel fired on people waiting for aid near Gaza City, killing 104 Palestinians and wounding 280, with one hospital saying it had received 10 bodies and dozens of injured.
A spokesperson for Israel’s military said there was no knowledge of shelling at that location. The military later said dozens of people were hurt as a result of pushing and trampling when aid trucks arrived in northern Gaza.
An Israeli government spokesperson described the casualties as a tragedy and said initial indications were that the deaths were caused by delivery drivers ploughing into a surging crowd. He said the drivers were Gazan civilians.
An Israeli source said troops opened fire at “several people” in the crowd who posed a threat to them.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office said he “condemned the ugly massacre conducted by the Israeli occupation army against the people who waited for the aid trucks at the Nabulsi roundabout”.
Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said the incident took place at the al-Nabusi roundabout west of Gaza City.
Medical teams were unable to cope with the volume and severity of injuries from dozens of wounded people who arrived at al-Shifa hospital, Qidra said.
The head of Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza City, Hussam Abu Safieyah, said it received 10 dead bodies and dozens of wounded patients from the incident west of the city.
“We don’t know how many there are in other hospitals,” Safieyah told Reuters by phone.
Hamas warned in a statement that the incident could lead to the failure of talks aimed at a deal on a truce and hostage release. “The negotiations conducted by the movement’s leadership are not an open process at the expense of the blood of our people,” it said, referring to Thursday’s deaths and saying Israel would be responsible for any failure of the talks.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas sent fighters into Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza health authorities say 30,000 people have been confirmed killed in the enclave since then, with thousands of others believed buried under rubble.
Videos posted on social media showed trucks carrying many dead bodies. Reuters verified the location of one video to al-Nabulsi roundabout that showed several men who were motionless, as well as several wounded people.
Another video, which Reuters was unable to verify, showed bloodstained people being carried in a truck, medics treating people on a hospital floor, and bodies being wrapped in shrouds.
Referring to the incident, an Israeli military spokesperson said: “There is no knowledge of Israeli shelling in the area.”