Greater Middle East (bbabo.net), - “This is a serious incident and we are looking into the reports. We mourn the loss of innocent lives and recognize the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where innocent Palestinians are simply trying to feed their families,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, quoting a US National Security Council spokesman.
“This underscores the importance of expanding and maintaining the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including through a potential temporary ceasefire. We continue to work day and night to achieve this result,” the official added.
Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on Thursday as a crowd of Palestinians gathered near a convoy of aid trucks in Gaza City. This led to chaos in which dozens of people were killed and injured, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The newspaper emphasizes that the circumstances of the deadly incident are still unclear, with Palestinian and Israeli officials giving completely different versions. According to representatives of Hamas and the sector controlled by the group, the Israeli military killed more than 100 people and injured more than 760 Palestinians as a result of the shooting by the Israeli military. Israeli army sources said most of the deaths were the result of stampedes and panic.
It is noted that the shooting of civilians in Gaza occurred several hours after the visit of USAID administrator Samantha Power to the Kerem Shalom border crossing, where, as Haaretz emphasizes, she “begged” Israel to increase the amount of aid and open additional crossing points.
“It is absolutely clear that as conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate for Gazans, two checkpoints are not enough,” she said.
“We are talking to Israeli officials about the need to open many more checkpoints, many more passages into Gaza so that the volume of life-saving humanitarian aid can be dramatically increased. This is a matter of life and death,” Power added.
The USAID administrator's visit comes amid growing concern among U.S. officials about Israeli attacks on civilian police forces that include Hamas supporters but also people not directly affiliated with the group. The units escort aid trucks into Gaza, the number of which has dropped sharply in recent weeks.
US officials said Power discussed delivering aid to Gaza during meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Haaretz noted.
US officials said the incident at the Gaza crossing underscored the need to establish a temporary ceasefire as soon as possible, especially given that Ramadan begins in a week and a half, and the increasingly desperate nature of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Haaretz reported.
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