104 Palestinians massacred at Gaza aid point
Israeli forces shot dead 104 people when a crowd rushed towards aid trucks yesterday, the health ministry in Gaza said, in one of the worst single incidents of a nearly five-month war.
More than 750 people were also hurt in the incident, the ministry said. It came after aid agencies had intensified warnings over Gaza's humanitarian situation, with famine threatening particularly in Gaza's north.
Looting of aid trucks had previously occurred in northern Gaza, where residents have taken to eating animal fodder and even leaves to try to stave off hunger.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said hundreds were killed and wounded from "bullets of the occupation forces that targeted a gathering of citizens" at Gaza City's
104 Palestinians massacred at Gaza aid point Nabulsi roundabout. He called it a "massacre".
"Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed," the UN humanitarian chief said following the shooting.
"Even after close to five months of brutal hostilities, Gaza still has the ability to shock us," UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on X.
President Joe Biden said the United States was checking "competing versions" of a shooting incident at a Gaza aid point.
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, however, said many of the dead were crushed by the trucks themselves, after "aid trucks were overwhelmed by people trying to loot".
The Gaza City shooting adds to a Palestinian death toll from the war which the health ministry earlier yesterday said had topped 30,000.
It came after mediators said a truce deal between Israel and Hamas could be just days away.
In a reflection of increased concern at the White House, Biden's administration is considering air-dropping aid into Gaza, US news site Axios reported early yesterday.
Since October 7, Israel's relentless military campaign has killed 30,035 people including more than 13,000 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel's military says 242 soldiers have died in Gaza since ground operations began in late October.
Meanwhile, mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been seeking a six-week pause in the war.
Negotiators hope a truce can begin by around March 10 or 11 when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, depending on the lunar calendar.
The proposals reportedly include the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza by militants in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Short of the complete withdrawal Hamas has called for, a source from the group said the deal might see Israeli forces leave "cities and populated areas", allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.
Biden is "pushing all of us to try to get this agreement over the finish line", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA described the food security situation as "extremely critical across Gaza, particularly in northern Gaza."
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), no humanitarian group had been able to deliver aid to the north for more than a month. The agency accused Israel of blocking access.
"If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza," WFP's deputy executive director Carl Skau said.
Israeli officials have denied blocking supplies.
With aid flows on the ground limited, more is coming in by parachute.
Neighbouring Jordan said it had on Thursday again air-dropped food and other relief. Jordan's army said the drop over northern Gaza came in collaboration with Bahrain and Oman.
The United Arab Emirates' official news agency WAM said the Gulf country had begun a joint operation with Egypt to drop food and medical aid.
The operation would last several weeks, it said.
In the south, nearly 1.5 million people trying to flee the fighting are now packed into Rafah city, also short of food, as Israel threatens to send in troops against Hamas fighters there.
Israeli air strikes and shelling also killed at least 30 people in the Nuseirat, Bureij and Khan Younis camps in Gaza.
While fighting continued across Gaza, Muhammad Yassin, 35, battled to find flour in Zeitun.
"I found thousands of people waiting for long hours just to get a kilo or two kilos of flour," he said.
"We have not eaten a loaf of bread for two months. Our children are starving."
Talk about Gaza's post-war future has intensified even as combat continues.
Yesterday, Palestinian factions -- including Hamas and rival Fatah -- were expected in Moscow for a meeting at Russia's invitation.
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