Palestinian leaders and neighboring countries have condemned Israeli attacks on unarmed Palestinians gathering aid in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 100 people.
The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday that an “ugly massacre by Israeli occupation forces” had taken place after reports that Israeli forces opened fire on aid recipients southwest of Gaza City. did.
Gaza's health ministry said at least 104 people had been killed and more than 750 injured, and called on the international community to intervene “urgently” to reach a ceasefire as “the only way to protect civilians.”
“The killing of numerous innocent civilian victims, who have put their livelihoods at risk, is an integral part of the genocidal war waged by the occupying government against our people,” Prime Minister Abbas's office said in a statement, quoted by the Wafa news agency. He was reported to have said.
“The Israeli occupation authorities bear full responsibility and will be held accountable in international tribunals.”
The Palestinian group Hamas called the attack “a heinous genocide that adds to a long series of atrocities perpetrated by the Zionist criminal organization against the Palestinian people of our country.”
The group fighting Israel in Gaza said in a statement that the deadly attacks on aid-seekers were “unprecedented in the history of war crimes” and part of Israel's “war of hunger” against Palestinians in the enclave. said.
He called on the United Nations Security Council and Arab states to take a decision to oblige Israel to end genocide, ethnic cleansing, genocide and violations of international law in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas also said Israel and President Joe Biden's U.S. administration are responsible for the escalation of the war.
Western “complicity”
After news of the attack, the Israeli military claimed that civilians in the Gaza Strip had attacked aid trucks and that dozens had been trampled, but this was disputed by witness accounts.
Israeli government spokesman Avi Heyman told reporters: “At one point the truck became overwhelmed and the civilian Gazan driver driving the truck plowed into the crowd, ultimately killing dozens of people. That's my understanding,” he said.
“It's clearly a tragedy, but we don't know the details yet.”
Palestinian novelist Yusri al-Ghoul, who witnessed the incident, spoke to Al Jazeera from Shati Camp in Gaza City.
“They are [Israel] They are always saying their propaganda…I heard them insulting us and shouting at Palestinians and even children… [saying] We kill you every day,” he said.
“[If it was because of overcrowding], why were the knees and elbows shot? …Why did Israeli tanks target Palestinian civilians?”
The White House said it was investigating reports of Israeli shelling of Palestinians, describing it as a “serious incident.”
“We mourn the loss of innocent lives and the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where innocent Palestinians are simply trying to feed their families,” the White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. I am aware of that,” he said.
US President Joe Biden later said Washington was seeing “two competing versions of what happened,” before adding that the killings would make ceasefire negotiations in Gaza even more difficult.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said he was appalled by the “hundreds of reported casualties”.
“After nearly five months of brutal hostilities, Gaza still has the power to shock us,” Mr Griffiths said. “Life is being drained from Gaza at an alarming rate.”
international condemnation
Meanwhile, Israel and Egypt, which borders the southern Gaza Strip, condemned the attack.
“We condemn the inhumane Israeli targeting of… unarmed Palestinian civilians at the Nabulsi roundabout in northern Gaza,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We believe that targeting peaceful civilians rushing to receive their share of aid is a shameful crime and a serious violation of international law.”
Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement saying it “condemns the brutal targeting of Israeli occupation forces against a gathering of Palestinians waiting for aid at the Nabulsi roundabout near Al Rashid Street in Gaza.”
Saudi Arabia also joined in the condemnation. A foreign ministry statement said Riyadh rejected “violations of international humanitarian law by any side and under any circumstances” and called on the international community to force Israel to open a safe humanitarian corridor to Gaza. Ta.
Meanwhile, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter said: “I am horrified to hear the news of today's massacre.”
“Killing people queuing up for needed humanitarian aid?” De Sutter wrote in a social media post. “This is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and is completely contrary to international law. [International Court of Justice’s] Interim measures. ”
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, called the attack another “horrible crime” committed by Israel.
“These are civilians who are starving because Israel has not given them food for months and has not allowed them to receive supplies for more than a month,” he told Al Jazeera from Moscow.
“And they try to justify it by saying that Palestinians are also responsible for being killed by the same Israeli soldiers? It's unbelievable.”
Barghouti also criticized Western countries' “silence” and accused governments of “complicit in these crimes and allowing them to occur.”
“This needs to stop immediately,” he said. “It cannot be stopped without an immediate, permanent, complete and complete ceasefire.”
