Palestinians claim Gaza massacre by Israel kills over 100 people – IDF investigation says most killed in stampede

According to reports from the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, roughly 100 people were killed and hundreds more injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians swarming humanitarian aid trucks in northern Gaza.

In its response, Israel Defense Forces stated that the incident happened during an “early morning delivery of humanitarian aid trucks to the northern Gaza Strip,” when a “violent gathering of Gazan residents looting the equipment developed around the trucks.”

“During the gathering, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of being crushed and trampled,” the IDF stated.

Eyewitnesses told CNN that the truck drivers tried to flee the area after crowds attacked them, accidentally running over several Palestinians in the process.

Later on Thursday, the IDF explained some members of the crowd began to approach nearby Israeli forces who were securing the aid transfer, endangering the IDF soldiers who responded by firing on some of them.

Less than 10 Gazans were wounded in this separate incident, according to Army Radio, citing IDF sources. The soldiers proceeded according to protocol, with several warning shots being fired in the air and at the people’s feet before firing lethal shots.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry first claimed that 81 people were killed and another 700 injured in the incident, before raising the number of deceased to 104.

These reports were widely disseminated in Arabic language media on Thursday morning, causing widespread outrage on social media and furious statements by representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Kingdom of Jordan.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned “the brutal targeting by the Israeli occupation forces of a gathering of Gazan citizens.”

The PA’s Foreign Ministry decried the “ugly massacre” and blamed Israel for the tragedy, calling it “an integral part of the genocidal war carried out by the occupation government against the Palestinians.”

The Fatah movement also condemned the “bloody massacre” and, in a reference to Israel, said it would be a “stain on the terrorist occupation system that will not be erased.”

In the wake of the reports, Hamas threatened to end the ongoing negotiations for a new hostage deal, according to Al Arabiya.

“The negotiations are not an open process at the expense of our people’s blood,” Hamas said in an official statement.

“The enemy will bear the consequences of the failure of the talks as long as he continues his crimes against our people.”