Hamas, Israel accuse each other after over 100 killed in Gaza aid truck incident

Over 100 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were injured as a delivery of humanitarian aid turned into chaos on Thursday, Feb. 29, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. However, it’s unclear how the deadly event unfolded.

Israel and the Gaza Health Ministry are offering different accounts of what led up to the incident near Gaza. Reuters reported that Israel blames the deaths and injuries on victims being trampled and run over as hundreds rushed delivery trucks. However, Gaza health authorities interviewed by The Washington Post accuse Israeli troops of firing on Palestinians waiting for aid delivery.

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An Israeli spokesperson told The Associated Press that the Gaza Health Ministry’s account is inaccurate. He maintains that Israeli soldiers fired their weapons in a separate incident from the alleged stampede. The spokesperson contends that during a separate event, which reportedly occurred a few hundred meters away, Israeli forces opened fire when only some in the crowd posed an “imminent threat.”

When asked by CBS News how the threat is defined, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said that anybody approaching forces after being warned not to is believed to “pose a threat.”

Witnesses who spoke with CBS News did not refute a desperate rush for food but said Israeli forces “opened fire quickly and without provocation.”

Hamas reportedly said that the incident could jeopardize talks aimed at a new cease-fire and the further release of more Israeli hostages. CBS News reported that the deal would likely include a significant increase in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. When a reporter asked President Joe Biden whether the incident would “complicate” talks in Qatar, Biden said, “I know it will.”

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the Feb. 29 incident is “yet another crime against humanity,” according to ABC News. CBS News reported that China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have also condemned Israel for its alleged actions.

International pressure is already mounting on Israel to reduce the civilian death toll. The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll for Palestinians has now surpassed 30,000 people, but the ministry does not distinguish between combatant and civilian deaths.

Regarding the deadly event in Gaza, an anonymous official with the IDF, told The Washington Post the claimed stampede “has nothing to do with the IDF [but] the IDF is being blamed for it, which is outrageous and ridiculous.”

Aerial footage released by the IDF shows hundreds of people rushing toward a convoy of trucks. An independent analyst by The Washington Post determined that the area in the video is in southwest Gaza City, but could not verify the date the video was taken.

A spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense Force refutes the claims of the Israeli military.

“People were waiting from the last night expecting flour trucks to arrive,” the spokesperson said. “While they were waiting, the tanks started firing shells and bullets.”

The Israeli military argues that tanks fired warning shots to disperse the crowd after the situation with aid delivery became out of hand.

The U.S. is also seeking answers when it comes to the deadly events. A Pentagon spokesperson said the U.S. is pushing Israel for an investigation.

“We’re very saddened at the loss of innocent lives here,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder of the Pentagon said. “I mean, these are human beings that are trying to feed themselves. And so, I think we’re all kind of saying, you know, what happened here? And so, again, the White House has reached out and asked Israel to investigate this.”

Meanwhile, international organizations have issued warnings about hunger among people in Gaza. As deliveries become scarcer, The New York Times found that the biggest threat of starvation is in northern Gaza.

The Times reports that more than 15% of children ages six months to 23-months-old were acutely malnourished in January. UNICEF said the condition was rarely seen in Gaza before the start of the current war.

“Such a decline in a population’s nutritional status in three months is unprecedented globally,” UNICEF said in a press release.

According to The New York Times, Israel has been accused by international groups of withholding humanitarian aid, shooting at UN vehicles delivering aid and restricting access to food and basic necessities.

Israeli officials deny the claims, and Israel said it is not responsible for Palestinians going hungry. The Israeli military instead accused Hamas of stealing aid bound for those in Gaza, and said the UN is failing to deliver food. However, the UN denies Israel’s assertion that it is failing to deliver food.