Many of those killed in aid rush to Gaza were shot dead by Israeli forces, EU says

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) – Many Palestinians have been killed or injured in the chaos. I tried to get a bag of flour. European Union diplomatic officials said on Saturday that passengers on the aid convoy had been hit by Israeli shelling and called for an international investigation.

Anger grows over the despair of hundreds of thousands of people struggling to survive In northern Gaza, fighting has continued for about five months between Israel and Hamas.American military aircraft First airdrop of thousands of meals It said it carried out attacks on Gaza, and that Jordanian and Egyptian militaries also carried out airdrops.

The European External Action Service said “restrictions imposed by the Israeli military and disruption of the supply of humanitarian aid by violent extremists” were to blame for the crisis.

Residents in northern Gaza said they were scouring piles of rubble and garbage for something to feed their children, who eat only one meal a day. Many families have started baking bread by mixing animal and bird feed with grains.International aid workers say they have encountered devastating famine.

“We are dying of hunger,” said Soap Abu Hussein, a widow and mother of five taking refuge in a school in Jabaliya refugee camp.

According to the World Health Organization, hospital records in Gaza show that at least 10 children died of starvation.

Northern Gaza is bearing the brunt. The conflict began when the Hamas militant group launched an attack It invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages.

Gaza The Ministry of Health announced the number of Palestinian deaths. The number of victims of the war reached 30,320. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its statistics, but says women and children account for about two-thirds of the deaths.

In Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, where more than half of the Gaza Strip's residents have now been evacuated, an Israeli airstrike on Saturday hit a tent outside an Emirati hospital, killing 11 people, including medical workers. Fifty people were injured, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced.

of israel air, sea, and ground attackssignificantly reduced Densely populated northern Gaza is reduced to rubble. The military told Palestinians to move south, but as many as 300,000 people are thought to have remained.

Karl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, said this week that around one in six children under the age of two in the north suffer from acute malnutrition and wasting, making it “the worst rate of child malnutrition in the world.” He said that. “If nothing changes, famine is imminent in northern Gaza.”

People are Trucks delivering food aid to communities are overwhelmed Skau said he grabbed what he could and forced WFP to stop delivering aid to the north.

“The collapse of security due to sheer desperation is hampering the safe distribution of aid,” he said.

Thursday's violence saw hundreds of people rush into about 30 trucks delivering aid to the north before dawn. Palestinians said nearby Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd. Israel said it fired warning shots into the crowd and claimed many of the dead were trampled.

Doctors at Gaza hospitals and a United Nations team that visited Gaza hospitals said many of the wounded had been shot.

Ahmed Abdel Karim, who was shot in the leg and was being treated at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said he had been waiting for a rescue truck for two days before Thursday's convoy arrived.

“Everyone got on these trucks and attacked and moved forward. We couldn't get flour because we were outnumbered,” he said. He said he was shot dead by Israeli forces.

Radwan Abdel Hay, a father of four young children, heard rumors that aid teams were arriving late Wednesday. He and five others rode in a donkey cart and discovered a “sea of ​​people” waiting to be rescued.

As people approached the truck, “tanks started firing at us,” he said. “As I ran back, I heard tank shells and gunfire. I heard people screaming. People were falling to the ground, some not moving.”

Abdelhay took refuge in a nearby building. By the time the shooting stopped, many dead people were on the ground. “A lot of people got shot in the back,” he said.

Widow Abu Hussein said more than 5,000 people living with her at Jabaliya School, mostly women and children, had not received any assistance for more than four weeks. Adults eat less than one meal to save food for their children, she says.

A group of people went to the beach to fish, but shelling from Israeli ships killed three people and injured two others. “They just wanted to give something to the kids.”

The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment.

Mansour Hamed, a 32-year-old former aid worker who lives in a house in Gaza City with more than 50 relatives, said some were eating leaves and animal products. He says it has become common for children to emerge from the rubble with rotten bread.

“They're desperate. They want anything to stay alive.”

Recognizing the difficulty in obtaining aid and the critical need for food, US President Joe Biden said the US: Look for other methods “Possibly also includes a maritime corridor” to receive cargo.

Jordan's military said its own airdrops targeted positions in northern Gaza, while those coordinated with the United States took place in the south.

But the EU statement, echoing the views of humanitarian organizations such as the International Rescue Committee and Palestinian Medical Aid, said that airdrops should be used as a last resort, as they “have minimal impact and are not without risk to civilians.” It should be a means.” He called for the opening of further land routes to Gaza and the removal of obstacles from roads that are rarely open.

Aid workers had hoped a possible ceasefire would help. A senior Egyptian official said ceasefire talks would resume in Cairo on Sunday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

International mediators called for a six-week cessation of fighting and an exchange of Israeli hostages for some of the Palestinian hostages imprisoned by Israel before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins around March 10. I hope that an agreement can be reached.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Tara Kopp in Washington contributed to this report.

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