From the Liveblog of
Friday, March 15, 2024
IDF probe: Palestinian gunmen killed Gazans waiting for aid, no army fire at all
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says that last night, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Gazan civilians waiting for aid at Kuwait Square in Gaza City, leading to casualties. It says IDF troops did not open fire at any stage during the incident.
According to the IDF’s probe, a convoy of 31 trucks containing food and other humanitarian aid for civilians made its way to northern Gaza.
An hour before the convoy arrived at an IDF-established corridor, armed Palestinians opened fire while civilians were waiting for the aid trucks, the probe finds.
“As aid trucks were entering [the corridor], the Palestinian gunmen continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began looting the trucks,” the IDF says, adding that it also identified several civilians who had been run over by the trucks.
Hamas health officials said at least 21 people were killed and more than 150 were wounded in the incident.
The IDF says that after conducting an “intensive preliminary review,” it found that “the IDF did not open fire at the aid convoy at Kuwait Square.”
“A review of our operational systems and IDF troops [on the ground] found that no tank shelling, airstrike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan crowd in the area of the aid convoy,” the military says.
The IDF adds that it is continuing to investigate the incident.
“While the IDF continues its humanitarian effort to supply food and humanitarian aid to the civilians of the Gaza Strip, Hamas terrorists continue to harm Gazan civilians who are seeking food. and Hamas is blaming Israel for it,” the military says in a statement
“As a result, on the first Friday of the month of Ramadan, a smear campaign was created with the aim of spreading baseless misinformation for the sake of instigating violence in other arenas,” the IDF adds.
