On the 145th day of the war, a new massacre took place in Gaza, but Hamas and Israel's versions differ. The Islamic faction condemned the killing of 112 Palestinians in northern Gaza – and the wounding of 760 others – whom the Israeli army allegedly fired on while they were “queuing to receive humanitarian aid.” An accusation that the IDF strenuously denied, speaking of two separate episodes that took place hundreds of meters apart, with in the first case “the crush caused by the crowd causing most of the deaths.”
The UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors at 4:15 p.m. local time and 10:15 p.m. Italian time for urgent consultations on the situation in Gaza. This was announced by the United Nations, while international reactions multiplied. A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the United States viewed the shooting in Gaza as a “serious incident.” “We mourn the loss of innocent lives and are aware of the difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza, where innocent Palestinians are just trying to feed their families,” the spokesman said.
President Joe Biden later said his administration was examining various “conflicting” versions of the shooting. To those who asked him whether he expected a ceasefire on Monday, Biden replied: “Hope is the last thing to die,” but it was “probable there will be no ceasefire on Monday.” Asked about the shooting of a crowd in Gaza, the president said he was aware that the incident could have an impact on negotiations for the release of the hostages and indicated that the United States was considering “conflicting versions” of the incident.
Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department. For his part, he said that the United States is demanding “answers” from Israel about the events in Gaza, stressing that it is trying to obtain information and is monitoring the Israeli investigation into the incident. Miller stressed that the government views the situation in the Gaza Strip as “desperate” and is calling on Israel to “protect” the distribution of aid.
Asked about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's remark that 25,000 women and children had died in Gaza since the war began, the spokesman said: “Whatever the number of civilian deaths, it is too high.” Miller did not provide further civilian estimates victims and referred to the Ministry of Defense for clarification. The Pentagon said the figure given by Austin was based on estimates from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry
Hamas has warned that today's shooting in Gaza could lead to the collapse of ceasefire talks and the release of hostages. “The negotiations conducted by the leadership of the movement are not an open process at the cost of the blood of our people,” the Islamist group said in a statement, saying Israel was responsible for a breakdown in the talks. Hamas also said the death toll could rise further as many bodies still need to be recovered.
For its part, the office of Abu Mazen, President of the Palestinian Authority (PNA), defined the incident as “a despicable massacre by the Israeli occupying army for which the occupying government bears full responsibility.” This was confirmed by the Egyptian government, which in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “strongly condemned Israel's inhumane attack on defenseless Palestinian civilians waiting for the arrival of trucks carrying humanitarian aid north of the Gaza Strip, which led to an attack in large numbers.” of victims and injured people”
The attack, the statement continued, represented “a clear violation of the provisions of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as a total disregard for the value of the human person.”
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a note in which she wrote: “It is with deep shock and concern that I learned of the dramatic news of what happened in Gaza today. It is urgent that Israel determines the dynamics of the facts and the responsibilities involved.” The new and numerous civilian casualties require an immediate intensification of our efforts in the ongoing negotiations to create the conditions for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. “
And the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani further wrote that the population in Gaza should be protected and the facts and responsibilities should be rigorously determined.
On the other hand, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “condemned” the Gaza aid massacre and reiterated his “call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages.” This was stated by the spokesman for the Glass Palace, Stephane Dujarric. Guterres once again calls for “urgent action so that humanitarian aid in and through Gaza can reach everyone who needs it.” The Secretary General is “shocked by the tragic number of people in the Gaza conflict.” The UN secretary then stressed that “desperate civilians in Gaza urgently need help, including those in the besieged north, where the United Nations has been unable to provide assistance for more than a week.”
Israel: “The crowd looted the aid supplies, it was a threat.”
According to the Israeli military spokesman, the soldiers opened fire after “while aid trucks were entering the northern Gaza Strip, local residents surrounded the trucks” whose passage the Israelis were ensuring and “looted the supplies.”
“In the accident – he stressed – dozens of people in the crowd were trampled.” Military sources report that the soldiers “shot at those who had surrounded the trucks” and that the crowd “crowded together in such a way that it posed a threat to the represented troops”.
Israel says soldiers are not responsible for most of the casualties recorded in Gaza today. Military spokesman Peter Lerner said this, explaining that two separate incidents occurred hundreds of meters apart. “At 4 a.m. a convoy of 30 aid trucks passed through the army checkpoint in Wadi Gaza and was later surrounded by thousands of people. The crowd got out of control and dozens of people were injured or killed in the crowd, others were hit by trucks.” It was only in the second episode that the soldiers opened fire “as they felt threatened by dozens of civilians.”
In addition, the Israeli military released aerial surveillance video of the incident. According to the Israeli military, “the video shows how many people surrounded the trucks and, as a result, dozens were killed and injured as they were pushed, trampled and run over by the trucks.” The army said it would continue to help transport humanitarian aid.
Lerner said these incidents occurred despite Israel's efforts, including in recent days “with hundreds of trucks,” to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the northern Gaza Strip.
The convoy in question had passed through the Israeli border crossing at Kerem Shalom, headed north along the coastal road from Gaza and “the last truck had passed” the army checkpoint (between the southern and northern sectors of Gaza) when a crowd formed several hundred meters away, in which numerous people lost their lives. The official added that eight trucks in this convoy also managed to go north, “but were exposed to fire from Gazans, looted and damaged.”
According to Lerner, the second accident was “much more limited.” After the convoy passed, dozens of people gathered around the army post. “As it was a war zone, the military fired warning shots in the air and then towards those who refused to leave the area.” “The army continues to investigate these incidents,” the officer concluded.
Video Gaza, Israel shows video of the crowd attacking aid trucks
Ben Gvir: “Stop the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza”
The Israeli army's delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians puts soldiers at risk. This was said by Israeli National Security Minister and right-wing leader Itamar Ben Gvir, referring to the incident north of Gaza
“Today,” he added, “it is proven that the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza is not only madness while our hostages are being held in the Gaza Strip, but also harms the army soldiers.” The incident – said Ben Gvir – “is another clear reason why we need to stop transmission.”
this help.”
Sinwar: “The Israelis are where we want them”
Hamas leader in Gaza Yaya Sinwar reappears with a message delivered by a courier to a meeting of exiled Hamas leadership in Doha earlier this month, in which he asserts that Israeli strikes have not eliminated all fighters would have.
“Don’t worry, we have the Israelis right where we want them,” Sinwar says – as the Wall Street Journal reports – adding that the Hamas leader in Gaza has stated that it is the al-Qassam Brigades going well. According to WSJ sources, Sinwar added that a high number of civilian casualties is increasing global pressure on Israel to end the war.
Humanitarian aid packages sent to Gaza have reached Israel
Packages of humanitarian aid that were launched from a Jordanian plane towards the north of the Gaza Strip today were carried by the wind and fell into Israeli territory. The military radio reported this and later assured the population that they “posed no danger.”
Meanwhile, public broadcaster Kan noted that today was the fourth consecutive day that aircraft from Israel-friendly countries had delivered aid to the Gaza Strip. So far, the channel added, these launches have hit the south of the Gaza Strip, in the area between Khan Yunis and Rafah. Today they have been introduced in the Northern Sector, Jabalya and the Indonesian Hospital.
The White House is also considering sending aid to the Gaza Strip by air as deliveries by land become increasingly difficult. “The situation is really serious. We need extreme measures like airdrops,” said an official source quoted by American media. But officials admit that air assistance is limited because a military jet can only drop as many supplies as one or two trucks can carry. So they can be used in an emergency, but the only way to send aid to Gaza is by land, the sources emphasize.
Video Egypt drops humanitarian aid packages in the Gaza Strip
Netanyahu: “We don’t know whether there will be an agreement with Hamas”
“It is not yet possible to say whether we will reach an agreement in the next few days, but we will certainly not accept Hamas's fanciful demands.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has the list of Hamas hostages that are part of the agreement would be, have not yet received.
“We will bring back all hostages – with or without an agreement,” he added. “The calls to end the war before we have achieved the goals we have set,” he added, citing international pressure, “cannot be accepted. As Prime Minister, I also have to guarantee national interests if that means going against the grain.”
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