these two versions which clash after the death of a hundred Palestinians during a distribution of humanitarian aid

In the aftermath of the tragedy, against a backdrop of famine affecting part of the Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade since the October 7 attacks, Hamas and the Israeli army put forward different versions.

Israeli fire on a hungry crowd and a large stampede during an aid distribution that turned into chaos on Thursday in northern Gaza left more than 110 people dead according to Hamas, sparking outrage in the international community and calls to establish the truth. While recognizing “limited shots” by Israeli soldiers feeling “threat“, an army official said”a stampede during which dozens of residents were killed and injured, some run over by aid trucks“.

In Gaza, the tragedy now has a name on the Palestinian side: “The Flour Massacre”. At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 750 injured, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, on Thursday February 29, when a crowd rushed on a food aid convoy in Gaza City where the humanitarian situation is desperate according to the UN. A drama with contradictory versions: Hamas claims that the Israeli army opened fire on the crowd, when Israel recognizes “limited shots“soldiers who felt”threat“, ensuring that the majority of those killed were killed in a stampede. The threshold of 30,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7 was crossed on February 29.

“Major scramble”

In the aftermath of this tragedy which caused the entire international community to react, the two versions are still very different despite testimonies. Hamas thus considers that the Israeli army deliberately fired on a hungry crowd at the “Nablus roundabout”, in the west of Gaza City. Accusations widely shared by residents of northern Gaza, like Mohammed: “I repeat to you what eyewitnesses told me: at dawn, there was a major stampede near an Israeli army position. Then, several volleys of fire came from an Israeli tank towards the crowd. There were many deaths and injuries. details the man, contacted by franceinfo.

For its part, the Israeli army refutes, supporting drone images and since broadcast on social networks and which allegedly show dozens of Gazans surrounding aid trucks, of having targeted civilians. “No Israeli army strikes targeted the convoy“, says spokesperson Daniel Hagari. She concedes, however, that she did well to disperse the crowd: “The tanks, which were there to secure the convoy, saw Gazans being trampled. They carefully tried to disperse the crowd with a few warning shots. Thousands of Gazans reached these trucks. There was a violent stampede. Some died. And there was looting of humanitarian aid“, detailed the soldier during a press conference.

Where did this convoy come from?

This convoy comprised 38 trucks was driven by Palestinians and secured by the Israeli army. It was the fifth, in five nights, to go back to the north of the Gaza Strip to try to supply a population which lacks everything. The spokesperson for the Israeli army indicated that this convoy, which entered Gaza from the Rafah crossing, on the Egyptian border, was chartered by “private companies“, without further details. The head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa), Philippe Lazzarini, stressed on X (ex-Twitter) that “neither Unrwa nor any other UN agency was involved in this distribution“.

UN estimates show that 2.2 million people – the vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s population – are at risk of starvation, particularly in the northern areas around Gaza City. However, we have known this for several weeks: stampedes frequently break out around these supply trucks. A tension such that last week, the UN stopped its convoys heading north in the face of insecurity on the roads becoming too high. For some time now, residents of Gaza have even been talking about the appearance of mafias who do not hesitate to divert humanitarian aid. The UN confirms and says it notes that attacks on trucks in the border sector with Egypt and on the northern road are increasing and are increasingly violent.

These are not from desperate people asking for help, but this is organized trafficking. These attacks specifically target humanitarian aid trucks in order to resell food at high prices on the black market. “There are young people of 15, 16, 17 years old who are making roadblocks. They stop the trucks and get on board with knives, with scalpels… It’s the mafia because there is no law.”explained Nabil, who is one of the displaced people from Rafah, to franceinfo.

International outcry

Since the announcement of the tragedy, across the world, condemnations and astonishment have responded. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “firmer disapproval“and demanded”truth” And “justice” after the death announced by Hamas of more than 110 people during an aid distribution in Gaza.
“Deep indignation at the images reaching us from Gaza where civilians were targeted by Israeli soldierss, writes the head of state on X. I express my strongest disapproval of these shots and demand truth, justice and respect for international law.“The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell denounced a”new carnage“and the dead”totally unacceptable“.

In Washington, President Joe Biden said his administration “checked” THE “two conflicting versions of what happened.”. Before confiding that he considered it unlikely that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip could be concluded by Monday after such a disaster. “We will push for answers“, assures the American president.

Turkey speaks of “crimes against humanity” and describes “new crime against humanity” these events. Finally, Colombian President Gustavo Petro immediately suspended the purchase of weapons manufactured by Israel, one of the main suppliers of the South American country’s security forces.