Over 100 killed while waiting for food aid in northern Gaza
Israeli forces allegedly opened fire on hungry Palestinians who were waiting for food aid in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, according to a spokesperson for Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
At least 112 people were killed and 760 others were injured in the incident at Al-Nabulsi roundabout near Al-Rashid Street in the southwest of Gaza City, the health ministry spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the death toll was expected to rise as dozens of the wounded were in critical or serious condition. Patients from the incident who were admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City suffered from injuries consistent with gunshot wounds, being hit by tank artillery shells and being trampled, according to the health ministry spokesperson.
When asked for comment, the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News on Thursday: "Early this morning, during the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, Gazan residents surrounded the trucks, and looted the supplies being delivered. During the incident, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling. The incident is under review."
Israeli security officials told ABC News on Thursday that the crowd approached IDF troops securing the passage of aid trucks in a manner that posed a threat to the troops, who responded with live fire. There was no use of artillery fire, airstrikes or drone strikes in the incident, according to Israeli security officials.
Northern Gaza has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from humanitarian aid for weeks, according to the United Nations, which continues to warn about the threat of famine for people still living there.
One of the truck drivers who delivers humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, Ahmed Ayad, told ABC News on Wednesday that crowds of people waiting for food aid on Al-Rashid Street block the vehicles from reaching their final destination, prompting Israeli soldiers to open fire.
"They fire so that we can advance comfortably," Ayad said. "But people don't respond to the shooting, so they move toward us and take aid from the truck. They're waiting. Everyone is anxious and the amount [of food] arriving is not enough."
U.S.President Joe Biden said Thursday that the White House is looking into the reports of Israeli forces killing civilians.
"There are two complete versions of what happened. I don’t have an answer yet," Biden said, adding that this will complicate the cease-fire negotiations.
The Biden administration is considering airdropping aid into Gaza, a U.S. official told ABC News.
-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Morgan Winsor and Samy Zyara