On February 29, the IDF reported that when aid trucks went into northern Gaza, residents surrounded the trucks, threatening those guarding the aid and looting the supplies. More on the incident, and Hamas’ claim that “at least 104” civilians were killed by the IDF, can be found here: “Dozens of Gazans trampled during aid distribution,” Israel National News, February 29, 2024:
Early this morning, during the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, Gazan residents surrounded the trucks, and looted the supplies being delivered,” the IDF confirmed. “During the incident, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling.”
According to the reports, some of the masses neared the IDF troops in a dangerous fashion, threatening to harm the troops.
The soldiers, whose job it was to allow safe distribution of the aid, felt threatened by the masses and responded with live fire.
Elder of Ziyon adds more details here: “We don’t know exactly what happened in the stampede on Al Rashid street – but we do know Palestinians are lying (update),” Elder of Ziyon, February 29, 2024:
The IDF released a video showing the crowds massing around the aid trucks, some climbing on top of them, but it doesn’t show the shootings or any panicked fleeing to my eye.
It seems likely that some people fell off the trucks and some might have been crushed.
The reporting in Arab media is quite different:
In a new massacre committed by the Israeli occupation tanks and artillery strikes, at least 104 civilians were killed and dozens were injured today while waiting for food aid in Al-Rashid Street southwest of Gaza City.
If 104 civilians had been killed, the videos released by Hamas would have shown at least a few dozen bodies, but there is no such video. The only one that has appeared shows four bodies, with what appear to be wounds — crushed and bloody heads — that would have been caused not by gunfire, but from being crushed in a stampede, as Gazans rushed to get the aid packages of foodstuffs before they could be properly distributed. To scare off these looters, some of whom appeared to be menacing the IDF soldiers who were helping to guard the aid convoy, the IDF fired a single volley. They may have hit a dozen, at most, but certainly not 104 Gazans. Then a stampede began, with people running away from the IDF contingent, joining other Gazans trying to pull off bags of flour and other foodstuffs from the trucks as they moved, while other Gazans climbed onto the trucks so as to fling sacks of flour, sugar, and other staples to their friends running alongside the trucks.
Medical sources said that occupation forces opened heavy machine-gun fire towards thousands of citizens from the northern Gaza Strip, specifically from Gaza City, Jabalia and Beit Hanoun, who were waiting for the arrival of trucks loaded with humanitarian aid in Al-Rashid Street southwest of Gaza City, resulting in the killing of over 104 persons.
104 dead from troops shooting? Machine gun fire? And other reports claim artillery as well.
Others are now claiming 150 killed.
The “machine guns” are a Hamas fantasy. So are the claims of 104 dead Gazans. Why would the IDF, which was there to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid, want to kill Gazans? The answer is: the Israelis don’t. They fired one brief volley as a crowd of Gazans made menacing moves toward them. That volley was enough to turn the crowd away, and to join others in resuming attacks on the aid convoy.
One site claims to have video of the “massacre” – but it shows nothing, no gunshots or even panic.All we know is that the IDF did shoot at some people. 104 or 150 is an insanely huge number to be killed. Normally as soon as the first shots ring out everyone else scatters.With hundreds of people there, one would expect to find lots of videos being shared on social media of the shootings. The most gruesome photo I could find shows several bodies, but I cannot see any gunshots – their injuries seem more consistent with a stampede than shootings….
In fact, we now know what happened thanks to the report by Paul Adams of the BBC, who has reported what Palestinian eyewitnesses told him. It seems that after the convoy of aid trucks passed an IDF-manned checkpoint, a large group of Gazans approached the Israelis in a threatening manner. The IDF used live fire — a brief volley that may have killed a few, but certainly not dozens of Gazans. At the same time, Gazans started to besiege the trucks, grabbing at their piled-up contents, or trying to pull themselves up onto the trucks so as to be able to then toss bags of flour and other food items to their cronies on the ground who were running beside the trucks. Some of those on the ground running beside the trucks stumbled and fell, while some who had managed to clamber onto the trucks fell off, as well. And among them, several dozen were run over by the trucks, and killed or wounded in that way. Hamas’ claim of “104 killed” by the IDF is sheer fantasy. From the videos released by Hamas, fewer than a dozen people appear to have died. That should surprise no one. Hamas has in the past issued claims of casualties that have turned out to be ten times the real number, most notably about the so-called “Massacre at Jenin,” where the terror group’s claim of “500 civilians” killed was later proved to be “52 Palestinians killed,” of whom a least 45 were terrorists, and the claim made about “500 civilians killed” after an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which turned out be 10 to 50 killed, not by an Israeli airstrike, but by a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket, that landed not on the hospital but on the parking lot next to it.
The IDF will be blamed, of course, by most media outlets that routinely parrot what Hamas claims. Instead of the truth being told, about dozens of Gazans who were run over by the aid trucks they were trying to loot, the claim that “104 civilians” were shot dead by the IDF will be taken up and repeated, one more way to blacken the image of Israel as “genocidal” state.
Maria says
Hamas are liars murderers and nobody believes
James Lincoln says
Except for CNN, MSNBC, etc., Maria.
Tony Rice says
Sadly Maria, those who want to believe will AND joyfully repeat the Hamas’ lies, anything to hide Hamas’ killings of their own, even if only to discredit Israel. WHICH is their main intent. That they steal the monies intended for the Palestinian people demonstrates their lack of concern for those they are expected to govern and look after.
tim gallagher says
I know that my reaction, since Muslims in general and the scum of the earth from hamas lie endlessly, when I saw this news report on Tv, was that this was complete bullshit. The israelis are far more civilised than Muslims and they actually do care, as civilised people do, about trying to avoid killing innocent people, whereas evil Muslims like those in hamas do not give a damn about human life, so I never bought the Muslim bullshit. Unfortunately, I’m sure many people, given the fashionable anti-Jewish sentiment around these days, will buy the bullshit from the Muslims. If you are a non-Muslim, to believe anything from Muslims is to be a gullible fool.
Keith O says
Pretty much the same for me Tim, as soon as I saw the report my BS detector went straight to the overload position.
The first clue was the total lack of any footage, given that nowadays, every man and his dog has a camera and with the media baying like horny dogs for anything that will discredit Israel we still have nothing,,,,,, hmm, as they say, nothing to see here!
tim gallagher says
I didn’t even look at it, Keith O. The report came on the TV news, I was busy doing something and couldn’t be bothered even looking at the report but i did immediately think, “what a load of bullshit this is bound to be”. I believe nothing that comes from the muslim enemy at all. They never tell the truth at all but are always trying to fool the non-Muslims. Occasionally of course, we do get those truth telling Muslim types who say how much they hate non-muslims, threaten to kill us and will impose islam on everybody and it is good when they do because it probably wakes up a few people, but mostly they lie endlessly. Unfortunately., plenty of fools believe the muslim lies.