An Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson told Sky News: “There were no intentional shots fired at people trying to call for assistance.”
As we have been reporting, more than 100 people are believed to have been killed and another 700 injured during a raid by Palestinians to pick up supplies in northern Gaza.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said the deaths of those running toward the rescue convoy were “a very tragic event.”
But he insisted that the death toll provided by Hamas should not be taken seriously.
“I always ate it with a pinch of salt,” he said.
Asked whether any of the dead were hit by Israeli bullets, Hecht said: “The IDF fired only at people who posed a danger to our troops.
“There was no intentional shooting at people trying to get assistance.”
Hecht said the convoy, which was heading north along the coastline, “was swamped by a large group of people.”
“We had to respond because some people moved towards our troops in a dangerous manner,” he said.
However, it was “not in a deadly way. We were just trying to make sure they kept their distance from our troops.”
The IDF previously said it had fired warning shots.
Asked how many Gazans had been killed by IDF shelling, he said: “We don't know yet. We believe the number is not as high as claimed.”
He added: “Why would they fire on civilians trying to get food from trucks?”
Hecht said the Israeli military was trying to “facilitate” the acceptance of aid into northern Gaza, but “law and order and looting are problems.”
He added that the Israel Defense Forces “are aware of the situation in northern Gaza and are listening to the world's opinions.”
“We did everything we could,” he commented.
“We were going to accompany you.”
Yesterday, an Israeli government spokesperson claimed that the aid truck driver was responsible, but this appears to be contradicted by various other sources.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas claimed that the “ugly massacre” was “perpetrated by Israeli occupation forces.”
There are many different interpretations of what happened, which I summarized in yesterday's post at 2:42 p.m.
