Turkey has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in condemning Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid, with its foreign ministry calling the event “yet another crime against humanity.” Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd. The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded. That brings the Palestinian death toll to more than 30,000 in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan, condemns Israeli forces for firing on Palestinians waiting for aid delivery, labeling it a “crime against humanity.”
- Israel claims the deaths occurred mainly due to a chaotic crush for food aid, stating troops fired only when they felt endangered.
- Over 100 Palestinians were killed and at least 700 wounded in the recent event, raising the death toll to more than 30,000 in Gaza since the conflict with Hamas began almost five months ago.
- The Turkish Foreign Ministry accuses Israel of using “starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza” and suggests the event is indicative of Israel’s alleged intention to destroy the Palestinian population.
- The ministry calls for global recognition of the severity of the situation in Gaza and urges those with influence over Israel to halt the violence.
- U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply troubled by the death toll of 30,000 due to the war in Gaza and condemns the recent incident where over 100 people were killed while seeking aid.
- The tragic event occurred as Israeli troops reportedly fired on Palestinians attempting to access food from an aid convoy in Gaza City.
- The U.N. is investigating the incident, noting that it was not a U.N. convoy and lacked U.N. presence, making it challenging to ascertain the exact circumstances.
- The U.N. spokesman emphasized that the deaths resulted from the inability to deliver humanitarian aid safely amidst the ongoing conflict.
- The U.N. has been unable to distribute aid in northern Gaza for over a week due to the lack of security for both humanitarian staff and aid recipients.
- The U.N. is advocating for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to facilitate the organized, predictable, and safe distribution of aid, which is currently not feasible.
- Guterres renews his call for a prompt humanitarian ceasefire and the release of all hostages taken during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.
- Egypt condemned the recent killings in Gaza City as a “heinous crime” and a violation of international law, emphasizing the disregard for human lives.
- The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warns of operational scale-down by the end of March due to funding shortfalls, affecting services in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
- WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean decried the Palestinian death toll in Gaza, urging world leaders to advocate for a permanent ceasefire and peace.
- Palestinian and Israeli diplomats clashed at the U.N. in Geneva over the situation in Gaza, with the Palestinian ambassador denouncing the recent killings and the Israeli ambassador criticizing the U.N. rights chief’s comments.
The Associated Press has the story:
Condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza grows after dozens killed while seeking aid
Newslooks- ANKARA, Turkey — (AP)
Turkey has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in condemning Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid, with its foreign ministry calling the event “yet another crime against humanity.”
Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded. That brings the Palestinian death toll to more than 30,000 in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.
Israel responded with a blistering offensive in the Gaza Strip that has created a humanitarian catastrophe and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering. In a statement issued late Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.”
In a statement issued late Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza” and alleged that the latest event, which left more than 100 people dead, was evidence “of Israel’s intention to destroy the entire Palestinian population.”
“The entire world must realise that the atrocity in Gaza is about to become a global catastrophe with repercussions far beyond the region,” the ministry said. “We therefore call on all those with influence over the Israeli government to stop the ongoing violence in Gaza.”
WHO OFFICIAL DECRIES GAZA DEATH TOLL, SAYS THESE ARE HUMAN LIVES, NOT “MERE STATISTICS”
CAIRO — A regional director of the World Health Organization decried on Thursday the latest surge in the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip and urged world leaders to join her in a push for a permanent cease-fire.
Hanan Balkhy, who is WHO’s head for the Eastern Mediterranean, said “concrete steps” toward peace are desperately needed.
“The 30 thousand are not mere statistics, they are human lives,” Balkhy wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “As a doctor and humanitarian, I will keep advocating for the right of all people to life and health. I call on all leaders to join.”
The WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had previously described Gaza as “a death zone” and called repeatedly for a cessation of hostilities.
Last week, WHO warned at a regional news conference in Cairo that poor sanitation, the lack of access to clean water, and the over-crowdedness of settlements where displaced Gazans have relocated, could lead to further infectious disease outbreaks and ultimately more deaths in the battered territory.
PALESTINIAN DIPLOMAT AT THE U.N. IN GENEVA DENOUNCES LATEST STRIKE IN GAZA
GENEVA — The Palestinian ambassador at the United Nations in Geneva denounced Thursday’s apparent Israeli strike that killed at least 104 people waiting for aid in Gaza City.
“Are these human shields? Are these Hamas combatants,” asked Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, addressing his Israeli counterpart Meirav Eilon Shahar.
Khraishi spoke as the U.N. human rights chief was presenting a report from his office about the Gaza situation to the Human Rights Council. ,
“Hundreds of Palestinian citizens, civilians … who were waiting for trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, and they were bombed by the occupying power,” said Khraishi. “I would say to you: Let us put an end to the massacre.”
Khraishi represents the Palestinian Authority that runs pockets of the occupied West Bank but not the Gaza Strip, which is under the control of Hamas. He reiterated that the authority had condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war.
Volker Türk, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned of the risk of famine in north Gaza, where aid groups have largely been denied access in recent weeks, and railed against the “carnage” in Gaza and the attacks in Israel that preceded them.
Eilon Shahar, who spoke right before Khrashi and after the U.N. rights chief, stressed that more than 1,200 people were “butchered” in the Oct. 7 attack while others were subjected to “unspeakable acts of violence” by Hamas,
She also criticized Türk’s comments.
“The minimal reference to these horrific acts in your statement today is an affront to the victims and supports those who seek to remove these crimes from the narrative altogether,” she said.
Dozens of diplomats were taking part in Thursday’s council debate, which was focusing on recent developments in Palestinian areas.
EGYPT SAYS THURSDAY’S KILLINGS IN GAZA CITY ARE A ‘HEINOUS CRIME’
Egypt has condemned the killings on Thursday in Gaza City, when the territory’s health officials say Israeli forces fired at a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid, killing at least 104 people.
Also, around 760 were wounded, Gaza’s Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said. The ministry described it as a “massacre.”
“It is a heinous crime to target peaceful civilians who are rushing to get their share of humanitarian aid,” read a statement released by Egypt’s foreign ministry.
“It is a flagrant violation of the international law and the international humanitarian law, and also shows disregard to the sanctity of human lives,” the Egyptian statement added.‘
UN Chief says he’s shocked by Gaza death toll and killing near aid truck
Newslooks- UNITED NATIONS —
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “appalled” that 30,000 people have been killed by the war in Gaza and condemned Thursday’s killing of more than a hundred people seeking life-saving aid, his spokesperson said.
Witnesses say Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City on Thursday. More than 100 people were killed in the chaos, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters this was not a U.N. convoy and “there was no U.N. presence there,” so it is trying to determine the facts.
“These people died because humanitarian aid has not been able to be delivered in a safe manner,” Dujarric said. Whether they died or were wounded by Israeli gunfire, were crushed by a crowd or run over by trucks, “these are all acts of violence in a sense due to this conflict.”
Dujarric said the United Nations hasn’t been able to deliver aid to northern Gaza for more than a week because of the ongoing conflict and lack of safety for humanitarian staff and the people receiving aid.
“We want to see an immediate humanitarian cease-fire so that we can distribute aid in an organized, predictable and safe manner which is currently not an option for us,” he said.
Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel, Dujarric said.
Currently:
— A Palestinian American woman who faces trial in Israeli military court is released on bail.
— Colombia pauses buying Israeli weapons and president calls war in Gaza “genocide.”
— Journalism leaders ask for more protection for those covering the war.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
