THE head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of the Palestinians injured in the bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy said more than 80% had been struck by gunfire, suggesting heavy shooting by Israeli troops.
At least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured in the city on Thursday, according to health officials, when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.
Israeli officials said many of the dead had been trampled in a crowd surge that started when desperate Palestinians in Gaza rushed the aid trucks. Israel added its troops fired warning shots after the crowd moved toward them in a threatening way.
Dr Mohammed Salha, the acting director of Al-Awda Hospital, told The Associated Press that of the 176 injured people brought to the facility, 142 had gunshot wounds and the other 34 showed injuries from a stampede.
READ MORE: Owen Jones: Scotland’s stance on UNRWA has been vindicated
He could not address the cause of death of those killed, because the bodies had been taken to government-run hospitals to be counted.
Dr Husam Abu Safyia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the majority of the injured taken there had gunshot wounds in the upper part of their bodies, and many of the deaths were from gunshots to the head, neck or chest.
The bloodshed underlined how the chaos of Israel’s almost five-month-old offensive has crippled efforts to bring aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, a quarter of whom the United Nations says face starvation.
The UN and other aid groups have been pleading for safe corridors for aid convoys, saying it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, including crowds of desperate people who overwhelm aid convoys.
UN officials say hunger is even worse in the north, where several hundred thousand Palestinians remain even though the area has been isolated and mostly levelled since Israeli troops launched their ground offensive there in late October.
UN agencies have not delivered aid to the north in more than a month because of military restrictions and lack of security, but several deliveries by other groups reached the area earlier this week.
The United Nations says a UN team that visited Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reported “a large number of gunshot wounds” among the more than 200 people still being treated for injuries on Friday from Thursday’s chaotic aid convoy scene.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several European leaders have called for an independent, credible investigation into what happened.
Acknowledging the difficulty of getting aid in, US President Joe Biden said on Friday that America will soon begin air drops of assistance to Gaza and will look for other ways to get shipments in, “including possibly a marine corridor”.
The announcement came hours after a Jordanian plane over northern Gaza dropped packages attached to parachutes, including rice, flour and baby formula.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Thursday: “I don’t think the air dropping of food in the Gaza Strip should be the answer today. The real answer is: open the crossing and bring convoys and bring meaningful assistance into the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put forward a plan for Israel to retain open-ended security and political control over the territory – an effective reoccupation – after Hamas is destroyed.
Under the plan, Palestinians picked by Israel would administer the territory, but it is uncertain if any would co-operate.
That would leave Israeli troops to oversee the population during the massive post-war humanitarian and reconstruction operation envisioned by the international community.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel