At Least 20 Dead After Attack On Gaza Aid Convoy: What We Know

 

Destroyed buildings are seen through the window of an airplane from the U.S. Air Force overflying the Gaza Strip, Thursday, March 14, 2024.

More than 20 people are said to be dead and more than 150 injured after another alleged attack on civilians awaiting humanitarian aid in Gaza, but Palestinian and Israeli officials have each blamed each other for the attacks, as Israel called a new cease-fire proposal from Hamas “unrealistic.”

Both sides acknowledged that the incident occurred Thursday in the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza, an area reportedly known as a center for aid distribution in Gaza City, according to CNN.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has put the death toll at at least 21, with 155 injured—the agency blamed Israel for the attack, saying it was the result of “Israeli occupation forces targeting citizens waiting for humanitarian aid,” according to a translated Facebook statement.

But in a statement posted on X Friday morning, the Israel Defense Forces denied that account, claiming that Israeli forces were facilitating the passage of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza when, an hour before the trucks arrived, “armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy,” and that the armed individuals “continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began looting the trucks,” with the trucks also running over a number of civilians.

The IDF says its own preliminary review found that the IDF “did not open fire at the aid convoy in Kuwait Square” and that no “tank fire, air-strike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan civilians at the aid convoy.”

The latest incident involving civilians awaiting aid comes as Reuters reported that Hamas had presented a new Gaza ceasefire proposal that would reportedly see the group release Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners—though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was based on “unrealistic demands.”

KEY BACKGROUND

The incident occurs just weeks after more than 100 Palestinians were killed, and hundreds more were wounded, while awaiting aid in Gaza on Feb. 29, sparking international outcry. Palestinian officials similarly blamed Israel for the attack, while Israel claimed that Gazan civilians surrounded and looted the trucks, with a majority of the deaths caused by stampeding and Israeli forces firing “warning shots” as the crowd got out of hand. Israel has faced increasing scrutiny over its humanitarian efforts and the deaths of civilians since the Israel-Hamas War started after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people.

BIG NUMBER

31,490. That’s the number of civilians killed in Gaza, at least according to Palestinian Health Officials.

TANGENT

Israel is making moves to invade the town of Rafah, with Netanyahu announcing Friday he’d approved a plan to evacuate the roughly 1.5 million civilians living there ahead of an eventual offensive. The prospect of a Rafah invasion has prompted international humanitarian concern, as the town has become a gathering point for civilians seeking refuge from the war. It’s also become a point of tension between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden, who has urged against a Rafah invasion. Netanyahu has vowed to “repel” international pressure and move forward with the offensive.