ISREALI forces in war-torn Gaza opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in a chaotic melee on Thursday that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 100 people.
The Israeli military said a “stampede” occurred when thousands of desperate Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.
An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it “posed a threat”.
The Gaza health ministry condemned what it called a “massacre” in Gaza City in which 112 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.
The incident adds to a Palestinian death toll from the war which the ministry earlier Thursday said had topped 30,000, and dampens hopes a truce deal between Israel and Hamas militants could be just days away.
There were conflicting reports on what exactly unfolded in the hours before dawn.
A witness in Gaza City, declining to be named for safety reasons, said violence unfolded when thousands of people rushed towards aid trucks at the city’s western Nabulsi roundabout, and soldiers fired at the crowd “as people came too close” to tanks.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military had fired “a few warning shots” to try to disperse a crowd that had ambushed the aid trucks.
When the crowd got too big, he said the convoy tried to retreat and “the unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured”.
Aerial images released by the Israeli army showed what it said were scores of Gazans surrounding aid trucks in Gaza City.
Ali Awad Ashqir, who said he had gone to get some food for his starving family, told AFP he had been waiting for two hours when trucks began to arrive.
“The moment they arrived, the occupation army fired artillery shells and guns,” he said.
