The tragedy that occurred in Gaza on Thursday – according to Hamas, around a hundred people died in an uprising, followed by Israeli army shooting during a food distribution – triggered a wide range of international reactions on Friday, March 1, which many countries were pushing for a ceasefire.
According to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, Israeli bombings and military operations have killed 30,228 people in the territory since the outbreak of war following the bloody attack by Hamas commandos that invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Calls for a ceasefire and an independent investigation after the aid distribution tragedy in Gaza
Witnesses said Israeli soldiers fired on a hungry crowd rushing towards trucks carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City in the early hours of Thursday. An Israeli army official confirmed “limited shooting” by soldiers who felt “threatened” and spoke of “an onslaught in which dozens of residents were killed and injured, some run over by aid trucks.”
Read the decryption| Article reserved for our subscribers In Gaza, a food distribution turns into a tragedy: What we know about the humanitarian convoy and the Israeli army shooting
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In the eyes of American President Joe Biden, this drama will complicate talks on a ceasefire. As a staunch ally of Israel, Washington demanded “answers” from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and called for “an agreement on a temporary ceasefire.”
France called for an “independent investigation” and Germany called for a “humanitarian ceasefire.” The European Union (EU) also called for an investigation and a ceasefire on the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Strip, with the delivery subject to Israeli consent. The UN Security Council will continue discussions on a draft statement on the tragedy in Gaza.
The United States will participate in humanitarian aid deliveries
“In the coming days, together with our friends, we will conduct humanitarian airdrops in the Gaza Strip,” announced United States President Joe Biden, who received Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Home White.
Since November, Jordan has carried out around ten airdrops in the enclave. The Jordanian military cargo ships were joined by a French aircraft on Monday, February 26, and then by Egyptian and Emirati aircraft the next day.
Also read | Article reserved for our subscribers Air drops are being carried out in Gaza to relieve the population and improve the image of Arab and international actors
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The EU will release 50 million euros for UNRWA
The EU will release 50 million euros in aid to the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) “early next week”, before potentially releasing a further 32 million in the long term, the EU said on Friday. European Commission.
This decision comes “at the right time,” he continued the social network UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini eight days after announcing that his organization had reached a breaking point with Israel's repeated calls for its dissolution and a freeze on donor funding amid the unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza.
Two further tranches of 16 million euros each would be released later “depending on the application of the agreement,” the text continues. UNRWA said it was “prepared to conduct a review of its staff to confirm that no one was involved in the attacks” and “to put in place additional controls to limit this risk in the future,” the press release said.
The EU money “will support the agency’s efforts to maintain vital and essential services for Palestinian refugees,” said Mr. Lazzarini, which is subject to “full disbursement of the contribution.” [européenne] is critical to the agency’s ability to continue operating in a highly volatile area.”
Also listen to Crisis at UNRWA: Why the UN agency for Palestinian refugees is in turmoil
According to Hamas, seven hostages died in the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip
Hamas' armed wing claimed on Friday evening that seven hostages held in the Gaza Strip had died as a result of Israeli “bombings” into Palestinian territory in recent weeks.
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Hamas militants claimed three hostages were among the seven dead, a video of which the Islamist movement released on Thursday. They said the names of the four other dead hostages would be released once they were “confirmed.” It was not possible to confirm this information from an independent source on Friday.
Also read the report | Article reserved for our subscribers Hostage families exhausted and divided in Israel: “It is a lie to say that everyone will come back”
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