Israel denies Hamas claims that IDF targeted civilians waiting for aid

Israel has denied Hamas claims that 29 Palestinians were killed and more than 150 injured in Gaza after the IDF allegedly targeted people waiting for humanitarian aid. The people were killed in two separate incidents, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

In the first incident, Palestinian health officials said eight people were killed in an airstrike on an aid distribution centre in Al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza. Later, at least 21 people were killed and more than 150 were wounded by Israeli gunfire at a crowd awaiting aid trucks at a northern Gaza roundabout, the health ministry added.

In a statement, Israel’s military denied attacking aid distribution points, describing the reports – which have not been independently verified – as ‘false’. ‘As the IDF assesses the incident with the thoroughness that it deserves, we urge the media to do the same and only rely on credible information,’ the statement said.

Mohammed Ghurab, director of emergency services at a hospital in northern Gaza, claimed that there were ‘direct shots by the occupation forces’ on people waiting for a food truck. An AFP journalist on the scene said they saw several bodies and people who had been shot. The Gaza conflict has displaced most of the enclave’s 2.3 million population. Chaotic scenes and deadly incidents have taken place during aid distributions as desperately hungry people scrambled for food.

On February 29, Hamas accused the IDF of opening fire in a ‘massacre’ that has left more than 100 dead near Gaza City, but Israel says Palestinians were killed when panicked truck drivers were surrounded and tried to drive through the crowd. Israeli sources confirmed troops opened fire at ‘several people’ after feeling threatened by crowds near the aid point. A witness said that the violence unfolded when thousands of people desperate for food rushed towards aid trucks at the western Nabulsi roundabout.

‘Trucks full of aid came too close to some army tanks that were in the area and the crowd, thousands of people, just stormed the trucks,’ the witness said, declining to be named for safety reasons. ‘The soldiers fired at the crowd as people came too close to the tanks.’ The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll has reached 107 and hundreds more were injured. An Israeli government spokesperson described it as a tragedy and said initial indications showed that deaths were caused by delivery drivers ploughing into a surging crowd. 

‘At some point the trucks were overwhelmed and the people driving the trucks, which were Gazan civilian drivers, ploughed into the crowds of people, ultimately killing, my understanding is, tens of people,’ spokesperson Avi Hyman told reporters. ‘It’s obviously a tragedy but we’re not sure of the specifics quite yet.’ Aerial photos released by the IDF purport to show the scene as Palestinians attempted to obtain food from aid trucks. Heartbreaking footage also shows clusters of people surrounding several vehicles in scenes of desperation.

This comes as residents in Gaza said Israeli aerial and ground bombardments persisted overnight across the enclave, including in Rafah in the south, where over a million displaced people are sheltering. The war was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli towns on October 7 that left 1,200 people killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel’s air, sea and ground assault on Gaza has killed more than 31,000 people and wounded over 71,500, according to Gaza health authorities. Efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist militant Hamas have so far failed.

While Israel said it sought a deal that would secure the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinians held by Israel, Hamas insists an agreement should end the war. Late on Thursday, Hamas said it presented to mediators a comprehensive vision of a truce deal based on stopping what it calls Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, providing relief and aid, the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the new Hamas position was based on ‘unrealistic demands.’ With the war now in its sixth month, the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza – one quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine and global pressure has been growing on Israel to allow more access. Israel denies obstructing aid deliveries into Gaza. It has blamed failures by aid agencies for delays and accuses Hamas of diverting aid. Hamas denies this and says Israel uses hunger as a weapon in its military offensive.

A ship carrying aid was approaching Gaza where the U.S. military plans to set up a dock to enable distribution of up to two million meals a day. While welcoming aid ships, Palestinian and UN officials say maritime deliveries are not a substitute for sending aid through land crossings. Hamas on Thursday called for an escalation of protests and attacks against Israel in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem on Friday, the first day of Friday prayers in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. 

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