IDF statement on Aid Convoy Stampede

[Yellowducksandrakes]

What’s happened: Following the death of dozens of Palestinians after a stampede broke out around an aid convoy west of Gaza City, the US has blocked an Algerian-sponsored statement at the United Nations Security Council which sought to blame Israel.

• While reports conflict, it appears that:
• Before dawn yesterday morning, approximately 30 trucks containing aid entered the Gaza Strip to deliver food to the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City.
• At approximately 4.40 AM, thousands of Gazans swarmed the trucks. Drone footage of the event shows some of the trucks attempting to drive through the crowds, presumably in an effort to extract themselves and deliver the aid they were carrying.
• After a number of trucks were able to continue north, armed men opened fire on what remained of the convoy.
• While the IDF has admitted that its troops did open fire, it says that this was only “when they encountered danger, when the mob moved toward it in a manner that endangered the force”.
• The IDF also says that it “did not fire toward individuals seeking aid and we did not fire toward the humanitarian convoy from the ground nor from the air.”
• It is being reported that at least 112 Gazans were killed in this incident, with approximately 760 being injured. However, as these figures originate from within the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health, their veracity is questionable.
• The IDF’s initial inquiry into the incident has concluded its troops’ fire killed only 7 or 8 people and that the majority were killed in the chaos, not by shooting.
• “The tanks were there to provide security for the trucks. Our aircraft gave the troops on the ground a full picture from above,” the IDF said.
• “When the hundreds turned into thousands, the IDF complied with international law… Israel did not limit the quantity of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. We recognize the suffering of the Gaza residents.”
• In the aftermath of this event, much of the international community has reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire and increased aid being allowed into the Gaza Strip.
• At the United Nations Security Council, Algeria sought to issue a statement which explicitly blamed Israel for this deadly incident. While supported by 14 out of 15 council members, it was blocked by the US.
• When asked why the US had not supported this statement, Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood said: “We don’t have all the facts on the ground – that’s the problem.”
• He also said that in the face of contradictory reports, the US was trying to establish facts, including regarding the “circumstances around how people died”.
• President Biden has also discussed this incident with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. According to a White House statement, they agreed that it “underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible”.
• The White House has also called for this event to be “thoroughly investigated”.

Context: Israel will conduct a thorough investigation into an incident which further highlights the complexity of distributing aid to the Gazan people and the urgent necessity of forming a civilian infrastructure to prevent further incidents of this kind.

No I didn't.

I don't know what you mean by speech marks.

I put two sentences in double quotation marks - to report speech.

I put one word in single quotation marks.

Single quotation marks can be used to emphasize a word or phrase within a sentence.

Since I didn't know what people were being referred to I put the word into single quotation marks.

I can't see why you have a problem with the correct use of grammar?

That might carry more weight as a potential justification if you'd been consistent in your use of single or double inverted commas. As it is, though, you used double inverted commas for a direct quotation at the start of your post and then single only for a specific word, and have then used double inverted commas again since then. Which is consistent with the generally accepted usage to imply an alternative or ironic meaning to the word.

This may help - https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar

'Hilarious'.

I’d just report the comment. I know similar comments (“Palestinians” have been reported and deleted by mn before )

You know, if someone were told that the way they'd said something appeared offensive to others, and they genuinely hadn't intended it to be so, the usual reaction would be to apologise and revise the statement. Not to continue to be rude and try to cause more offence.

Who is this 'someone' you refer to and should they have single or double quotation marks ? Or maybe non at all??

@Yellowducksandrakes they don't necessarily need any inverted commas, given that it's a hypothetical someone.

"they don't necessarily need any inverted commas,"

what do you mean, "not necessarily"

Either they do or they don't, surely ?

Much of English grammar is subjective, and there are different standard practices in different countries. One thing which is consistent, however, is the expectation that the usage of practices remains consistent in an author's work. Which is where the issue with your switching between double and single inverted commas raises some eyebrows.

A consistent use of either double or single inverted commas suggests a consistent meaning.

A single use of single inverted commas, when an author has otherwise used double inverted commas for quotations, is consistent with that use having a different intended meaning. In this case, the use in that context strongly implies that the reader should infer a different or ironic meaning. The way it is written implies that the author regards the people being discussed as less than or sub-human, which is a commonly circulated view among some groups both online and in real life. That is what causes offence. People whose loved ones have been killed and seriously injured in Gaza are reading this and seeing a post refer to people from Gaza in that way.

The simple solution, if no offence had been intended, would have been to apologise for inadvertently causing distress or offence, and to revise what had been said. An approach of attacking and appearing to seek to cause more offence is unlikely to rectify the offence caused or lead to any constructive dialogue.

@Scirocco "The way it is written implies that the author regards the people being discussed as less than or sub-human, "

It implies no such thing but if people want to be offended about just about anything, that's up to them.

I really don't have time for such petty-minded bullshit.

I'm gone.

www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/artc-hamas-executes-gazan-clan-leader-after-alleged-collaboration-with-israel-reports

Not sure what they meant by collaboration? Effecting distribution? Making money from it?

@stomachamelon I think there's a near total breakdown of law and order now, which is heartbreaking to see, and people are going to use that to their advantage to kill people they want to kill for whatever spurious reasons they dream up. It's a horrible situation to watch people desperate for aid, while (mostly) men kill each other for power and grudges that don't matter one bit in the grand scheme of things.

Hamas don't have signs stating who they are, they walk amongst women and children. Would Hss actually reveal if any of them die?

Hamas don't have signs stating who they are

Won't Hamas be armed, carrying ammunition, etc that would be a bit of a giveaway

Hang on from the video you linked the other day with Hamas stealing the aid you said they were Hamas. So you could clearly see they were Hamas and what they look like . But now you’re saying that they don’t have signs they’re Hamas and they walk among other people. So how could you know the other day they were Hamas members those stealing the aid ?

The IDF uses ammunition from the West, Hamas from Iran. Different type of bullets.

Sorry @AliceA2021
This the former Israeli prime minister saying this on some obscure Israeli TV station.
I‘m afraid that there’s a limit to the amount of Israeli public diplomacy that an intelligent person can handle.

”According to the IDF spokesperson’s office, “Hasna was a combat support operative in Hamas’ military wing. He was also involved in taking control of humanitarian aid and distributing it to Hamas terrorists” ……………….

………Hopefully, now there should be fewer raids by Hamas on Aid deliveries

I never know whether the IDF is telling the truth, (as the local authority, Hamas could have been taking charge of the aid and distributing it generally ); but if Hamas were taking the aid for themselves, what if they were using some of it to feed the hostages who are with them?

In a functioning distribution system, aid agencies monitor the price of food in the market place-it’s really specialised. It’s inevitable some relief goods will make their way into the market place. People are social animals and it’s human nature to trade. If the enclave wasn’t sealed off, high prices would incentivise farmers and suppliers to get extra supplies into the field. Money would start to circulate and people would be trying to make a bit of cash cutting hair or from whatever opportunity they saw. Markets are encouraged and help to prevent the dependency on wet kitchens, thus helping communities to recover post famine. In recent years improving supply and making direct phone transfer of money to widows and other vulnerables has become an alternative to direct distribution.
But here the enclave is sealed off and the supply has been limited. I don’t know why it’s not being called a siege because effectively that’s what’s going on.
In the BBC today there’s a story about a woman who had antenatal complications , followed by malnutrition and is paying another mum to breast feed the premature baby along with the woman’s own. The breast feeding mum is going to need extra food and water.
So it’s completely naive to assume that photos of relief foods being sold in markets are good evidence that relief foods are being systematically misappropriated.
Its also naive to think that crowd pleasing air drops of tasty ready meals will help this mum unless she can find someone who’ll swap a ready meal for the hypoallergenic formula she needs
Born on 7 October: Gaza mum's fight to feed her baby https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68542331

You didn't answer my point. Just a random comment about ammunition.

The only way to identify a Hamas terrorist is by the bullet that killed him, hence my previous post.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13203775/civil-war-gaza-clan-declares-hamas-legitimate-target.html

Glad to hear good reached the north

That is very interesting.

It is somehow not surprising though that these different militant groups might clash.

Haaretz reported last Monday 11th March:
A Hamas-linked website warned Palestinians against co-operating with Israel in order to secure aid convoys, saying those who did would be treated as collaborators and be handled with an iron fist.