By Farah Ghazi
Edited by Harith Syafiee
Source: Al Jazeera
RAFAH, 29th February 2024: Israeli troops opened fire in Gaza, causing tragedy as hungry Palestinians gathered around food trucks, resulting in the deaths of over 100 Palestinians amid horrific sights, raising the total number of deaths from the Israel-Hamas war to more than 30,000.
The incident started early on Thursday when several trucks delivering much-needed aid pulled into the Sheikh Ajleen neighbourhood of western Gaza City’s Haroun Al Rasheed Street.
Witnesses claimed that Israeli forces opened fire on crowds of people gathered near just-arrived aid trucks, hoping to get food. According to one report, many of the victims perished when they were driven over by trucks during the ensuing panic.
“We went to get flour. The Israeli army shot at us. There are many martyrs on the ground and until this moment we are withdrawing them. There is no first aid,” said one of the witnesses.
According to the ministry, Israel is currently engaged in a “genocidal war”. It stated that a ceasefire is “the only way to protect civilians” and urged the international community to “urgently intervene” to achieve it.
Ismail al-Ghoul of Al Jazeera reported from the scene that numerous dead and injured victims were run over by Israeli tanks that approached after they opened fire. “It is a massacre, in addition to Gaza’s citizens’ starvation,” he declared.
Al-Ghoul also stated that the numbers will rise. Lack of gasoline, let alone medicine, has made hospitals unable to handle the huge number of patients. And the hospitals have also run out of blood.
A truck that was meant to bring aid to Gaza’s citizens unfortunately ended up carrying the injured and dead, said Al-Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud.
Many people are making the difficult journey on foot southward since aid agencies have been unable to send supplies to the northern part of Gaza since January 23.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the incident claimed the lives of 112 individuals and injured over 750. At the same time, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the act, calling it a senseless “massacre”.
The tragedy occurs as discussions between Israel and Hamas approach a potentially critical point, and as the death toll from the Gaza war approaches 30,000. According to United Nations agencies, over half a million people are in the enclave and on the verge of starvation.
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