European Union leaders have called for an independent international investigation into Thursday's tragedy while trying to deliver an aid convoy to northern Gaza. EU High Commissioner for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell accused Israel of killing dozens of starving Palestinians.
“Last Thursday, more than a hundred civilians were killed and scores wounded as they desperately tried to get food from the convoy, and many of them fell victim to Israeli army fire during the stampede that ensued. There is no justification for Israeli soldiers shooting at civilians trying to get food,” Borrell said.
“We demand an independent international investigation into this tragic incident, which would provide a clear picture of events and identify those responsible. In any case, the responsibility for complying with international law and protecting the distribution of humanitarian aid to civilians lies with Israel. The reason for this incident was the restrictions imposed by the Israeli army and the obstacles caused by violent extremists to the supply of humanitarian aid," the EU's chief diplomat emphasized.
Council of Europe President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von dar Leyen also called for an independent international investigation into the incident, but refrained from making direct accusations against Israel.
The day before, the EU announced that it would sharply increase funding for UNRWA and transfer 50 million euros to this organization next week. The White House sensed the need for urgent action, and today the United States began airdropping humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The IDF admitted that the soldiers fired into the crowd when they felt their safety was threatened. However, the army assures that there was no lethal fire, hungry Palestinians trampled each other in a crush around the trucks, and some died under the wheels.
The New York Times conducted its own investigation of the available video materials and concluded that the circumstances of the incident remain unclear, and the drone video published by the IDF was stitched together from separate fragments and does not allow one to reconstruct the sequence of events.
The newspaper found the Palestinian owners of the trucks that carried aid to Gaza and reported from them that the entire operation was organized by Israel - in the last week, Israel has been organizing humanitarian convoys into Gaza in an attempt to alleviate the famine.
bbabo.Net