The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it had completed a preliminary review into civilian deaths while receiving aid in Gaza last week, concluding that forces did not target the aid convoy and that most Palestinians were killed as a result of the stampede.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “The Israeli army has completed a preliminary review of the unfortunate incident in which civilians in Gaza were trampled to death and injured while rushing towards the aid convoy.”
He added that the review, which collected information from commanders and forces in the field, concluded that no strike was directed against the aid convoy.
“Most of the Palestinians were killed or injured as a result of the stampede,” Hagari said.
He added, “After the warning shots were fired to disperse the stampede and after our forces began to retreat, a number of saboteurs approached our forces and posed a direct threat to them. According to the initial review, the soldiers responded toward several individuals.”
What happened?
- Health authorities in Gaza said that 118 people were killed by Israeli fire on Thursday as they sought food aid, describing the incident as a massacre.
- Israel disputed these numbers, saying that most of the victims were run over, and confirmed that soldiers opened fire when they felt threatened.
- On Saturday, the Israeli army pledged to conduct a “comprehensive and credible investigation” into the incident.
- The incident sparked a wave of global anger, and a day later, US President Joe Biden announced plans to airdrop American aid, in which Jordanian forces also participated.
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