From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 29, 2024
After deadly Gaza crowd crush, Ben Gvir says Israeli provision of aid endangers soldiers, must stop
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The provision of humanitarian aid to Palestinians endangers Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares, after dozens of Palestinians were reported killed swarming aid trucks in Gaza City.
“Today it was proven that the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza is not only madness while our hostages are held in the Strip… but also endangers IDF soldiers,” Ben Gvir declares, calling the incident “another clear reason why we must stop transferring this aid.”
According to Hamas, dozens of Palestinians died in the crush, during which a small group of Palestinians began to move toward IDF troops stationed in the area.
The soldiers fired warning shots in the air and shot at the legs of those getting closer to the forces. An IDF probe found that troops hit some 10 Palestinians in the area.
Since October, Ben Gvir has repeatedly called for Israel to halt aid shipments to the Palestinians while MK Limor Son Har Melech, a member of his far-right Otzma Yehudit party, has joined protesters attempting to block the aid at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
