From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Hamas says 70 killed waiting for aid, blames Israel; IDF denies this; source says troops in danger fired in subsequent incident
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
This morning, Hamas health officials claimed more than 70 Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza City were killed by Israeli forces.
The IDF says that as humanitarian aid was being delivered to the northern Gaza Strip, a “violent gathering” erupted surrounding the trucks, during which Palestinians looted the supplies.
“During the incident, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling,” the IDF says, adding that the incident is under review.
A military source says that following the incident, some of the crowd began to move toward Israeli forces in the area — who were tasked with coordinating the entry of the aid trucks to northern Gaza — in a way that “endangered” the troops.
The source says troops opened fire, and that the second incident is also being investigated.
* This item was updated after more details of the incident emerged.
