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.

From SKY
Gunshot wounds inflicted upon a large number of people were being treated at al Shifa hospital, a team from multiple international organisations observed yesterday.
Approximately 70 bodies and 700 injured people were admitted to the Gaza City hospital on Thursday, staff told a team visiting from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

your supposedly factual update has already been debunked by the usually pro Israel BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68454348

unfortunately for the IDF, the presence of hundreds of survivors with gunshot wounds points to a very different truth.

@AhaHa yes and this

BBC also explains the video provided by idf (another poster has posted it in another thread)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68445973

@Efacsen I have no issue with the incident being investigated. There could be a group made up of several countries?

I honestly think Israel needs to stand back and allow other countries to deliver and organise aid deliveries (until the UN feel happier/ safer about doing it)

I agree that regardless of who did what and when the initial situation shouldn't be happening. People should not be starving.

Thanks

Which other countries besides the US would be acceptable to Israel?

I also think aid needs and could be delivered through the Egyptian border more readily.

I honestly think all things can be true. Yes aid is blocked (but it's largely symbolic), there are aid trucks ready to go through but no one wants to deliver them, Hamas do steal aid and put it on the black market and people are desperate. And desperate people do desperate things.

If Israel wants to do better it needs to organise aid through other countries. I would stand back completely. Then the situation can be assessed for what it is. If aid delivery is then seamless then it's an Israel issue.

I have no issue what countries do it.... I wouldn't pick the more obvious suspects eg Iran. A coalition of agreed countries?

@Efacsen let the US pick?

Who do you think the US would pick that would be acceptable to Israel?

Hey Israeli government and the IDF.

I don’t believe you.

David Cameron..

“We can’t separate what happened yesterday from the inadequate aid supplies. In February, only half the number of trucks crossed into Gaza that did in January. This is simply unacceptable.”

The thing is once the aid provision unravels to this degree it's very difficult to reverse - the civil disorder is driven by hunger but that hunger can't be relieved because of the hunger-driven civil disorder

Sadly it's all been seen before - currently in Sudan where 15 drivers have been killed and previously in Somalia

The UN, WFP and others publically and specifically warned the Israeli government the first week of December that all this would happen and they chose to continue

Air dropping food aid is the method of last resort and it's uncertain whether sufficient food will be made available to reduce the desperation/civil disorder in this way

As said many times its not only about the distribution of aid, there just isn't enough aid being allowed in. And that's not because there is a lack of it
There's thousands of trucks that have been sent away and because there's far too many restrictions on what can be allowed in
It's like jumping over hurdle after hurdle and each one pulled further and further away deliberately

Listen to Jan Egelend who after witnessing himself told channel 4 'Israel is preventing aid to starving children, there's no other way to describe it'

https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1763169654598402350?t=JbhrW-ajg6CgvBG6dCd2HA&s=19

@Parkingt111 yes it’s systematic. It’s genocide.

And this reported in the times of Israel from a senior EU official condemning Israel for politicising aid

“Humanitarian assistance, which is saving the lives of innocent civilians, cannot be made subject to political negotiations — [in which Israel agrees to allow more food in if Hamas agrees to certain conditions], even more when the other side, in this case, is a terrorist organization,” Koopmans says.
“How can you say, ‘we’re not going to feed these starving children unless that terror organization does something?’ It’s not just a matter of humanity and values, even though these are very important. It’s also a matter of international law,” the EU envoy adds.

Bias operates both ways!
Are you the self proclaimed unbiased voice of reason?

The Pentagon says 25k women and children have been killed, out off 30k, so 5k men, how many of those would be Hamas?

Gaza used to get 5000 lorries per da (pre Hamas and its horrific attacks and murders) now its a few 100.

So quite why anyone wouldn't expect looting and rioting when food appears is anyone's guess?

I don't know what exactly happened but i wouldn't take what either side says as gospel.

With certain posters, the IDF will always be given the benefit of the doubt, even with the 6yo girl killed after phoning for help, it was "..but the IDF said they weren't operating there" or ""war zone, accidents happen"
Despite the fact that the poor kid kept saying there were tanks right next to her bullet ridden car.
Was she lying?

We now have the ridiculous situation where a war funded and fueled by the USA is now going to do food air drops to help save the population from the very things they are enabling.

@Efacsen I don't disagree with that I just hope there is a way forward.

With regard to countries I just mean a combination. I don't have an issue with who it is. There is just some I wouldn't pick for the more obvious reasons.

@Efacsen I am puzzled why you would want any response from those who support Israel's right to defend herself?

Any poster with that view on these forums is subject regularly to a tirade of abuse.

Apparently we "need to realign our moral compasses", "have blood on our hands", "support the starvation of a captive people", "sanction the murder of children" etc etc. etc. etc

So, I ask again, why seek the views of people you obviously think are despicable??

It was a pretty straightforward question if you don't want to answer it fine

I am puzzled why you would want any response from those who support Israel's right to defend herself?

In what possible way is Israel now "defending itself" ?

Its gone far beyond that now, Revenge might be a better description? understandable, no one can possibly deny, let alone excuse, 7/10 but, even if the death toll in Gaza is put to one side, the truth is that out of these 2m Palestinians, in the fullness of time, a small number will seek to form a new Hamas, aided by Iran.

As far as i can see, Israel is acting against it best long term interests.

Interesting that you make a point in saying that the number of deaths given by Palestine is coming from a biased source, but don’t make the same point about the number of deaths given by IDF.

In all honesty I’ve been quite shocked the past few weeks at how pro Israel a lot of MN seems to be, certainly not something I see replicated really anywhere else.

Well settlers have already begun building in Gaza and they only do that when they get their green light.

https://www.972mag.com/israeli-settlers-gaza-outpost-erez-crossing/

www.threads.net/@isabellado/post/C4DbwLyNzuu/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

@Efacsen I found the info you were asking about regarding the driver. Sorry took me a while.