They went out within the 1000’s, tenting in a single day alongside the coastal highway within the chilly Gaza evening — making small fires to maintain heat — huddled collectively ready for provides to return so they may feed their households.
What they encountered was loss of life and damage, as Israeli forces opened fireplace towards hungry, determined Palestinians who surged ahead when support vans lastly arrived within the predawn darkish on Thursday, in accordance with three eyewitnesses and a physician who handled the wounded.
“I noticed issues I by no means ever thought I might see,” stated Mohammed Al-Sholi, who had camped out in a single day for an opportunity at getting meals for his household. “I noticed folks falling to the bottom after being shot and others merely took the meals objects that had been with them and continued working for his or her lives.”
Greater than 100 Palestinians had been killed Thursday morning, Gazan well being officers stated, when Israeli forces opened fireplace as large crowds of individuals thronged across the support vans.
An Israeli navy spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, acknowledged that Israeli troops had opened fireplace “when a mob moved in a fashion which endangered them,” with out giving particulars. However he denied the troopers had fired at individuals who had been attempting to get meals. “We didn’t fireplace on these searching for support, regardless of the accusations,” he stated. A lot of the deaths had been attributable to trampling in a stampede, Admiral Hagari stated, and a few folks had been hit by support vans.
The truck convoy was lengthy and it remained unclear exactly what occurred at totally different areas alongside it. However Mr. Al-Sholi and two different witnesses stated in phone interviews that they noticed Israeli forces firing instantly at folks as they tried to achieve the convoy. A physician at a close-by hospital described seeing scores of individuals with gunshot wounds.
Monumental teams of individuals have camped out for support or raced to convoys in latest weeks, hoping for some deliverance from the extreme starvation that has gripped northern Gaza via almost 5 months of an Israeli offensive that has included intense bombardment, a siege and a floor invasion.
Mr. Al-Sholi, a 34-year-old taxi driver, stated he was compelled to affix the 1000’s of individuals gathered close to the Nabulsi roundabout in Gaza Metropolis as a result of he and his household, together with three younger kids, are surviving off little however the spices, minced wheat and wild greens that they’ll discover.
On Wednesday, he had heard that individuals had acquired luggage of flour from support vans, and there have been rumors that one other convoy was coming. So on Thursday, round 7 p.m., he went to the Nabulsi roundabout with associates to attend.
He stated he had by no means seen so many individuals gathered in a single place. Others described tens of 1000’s of individuals ready.
“Proper earlier than the vans arrived, a tank began to maneuver towards us, it was round 3:30 a.m. and fired few pictures within the air,” Mr. Al-Sholi stated in a telephone interview. “That tank fired a minimum of one shell. It was darkish and I ran again towards a destroyed constructing and took shelter there.”
When the help vans arrived quickly after, folks ran towards them in desperation, and the gunfire began, the witnesses stated.
“As typical, when the help vans arrived, folks ran towards them to get foods and drinks and no matter else they may get,” stated Mohammad Hamoudeh, a photographer in Gaza Metropolis. However when folks reached the vans, he stated, “the tanks began firing instantly on the folks.”
He added, “I noticed them firing direct machine gun fireplace.”
Mr. Hamoudeh stated that, regardless of the concern and panic on the scene, many nonetheless rushed to the provides. “Folks had been terrified however not everybody, there have been those that risked loss of life simply so they may get meals,” he stated. “They simply need to dwell.”
The witnesses stated that the tanks fired shells towards folks even after they started to run away. They stated tanks arrived between 3 and 4 a.m. and began firing often towards the Gazans, stopping at round till about 7 a.m.
The Israeli navy didn’t reply to questions on whether or not Israeli tanks opened fireplace earlier than or after the help vans arrived. Admiral Hagari stated the vans had neared Gaza Metropolis round 4:45 a.m.
Partial drone video footage launched by the Israeli navy, together with social media movies of the scene analyzed by The New York Instances, don’t totally clarify the sequence of occasions. Movies present panic, together with folks ducking for canopy and taking meals from vans.
Mr. Al-Sholi described chaos as ran from the help vans and other people round him had been hit.
“I noticed folks falling to the bottom,” Mr. Al-Sholi stated. “The person subsequent to me was shot within the arm with a bullet and misplaced his finger instantly.”
As he fled, he stated, he noticed about 30 folks on the bottom, both killed or wounded. A type of killed was his cousin, who was shot whereas working with a bag of flour, he stated. About 150 meters away from one of many tanks, he recalled seeing a boy, about 12 years previous, mendacity on the bottom along with his face coated with blood. Some folks had been additionally run over by the help vans, he stated.
A 3rd witness, a journalist who spoke on the situation of anonymity for concern of retaliation from the Israeli navy, stated the Israeli fireplace was so intense it was tough to get to the wounded.
The tanks didn’t cease firing till round 7 a.m. however they didn’t pull again. Folks began dragging or carrying the lifeless and wounded, saying the Muslim declaration of religion as they did so fearing the tanks would begin firing once more, stated Mr. Hamoudeh.
A few mile away ambulances had gathered, unable to get any nearer, for concern of being fired on by Israeli forces. Some folks carried or introduced the wounded to them on donkey carts, or took them to hospitals on their very own
Round 150 wounded folks and 12 of these killed arrived on the Kamal Adwan Hospital, stated Dr. Eid Sabbah, the pinnacle of nursing there. He stated about 95 % of the accidents had been gunshot wounds within the chest and stomach.
Most of the wounded had been in essential situation and required surgical procedure however the hospital, just like the few others nonetheless functioning in Gaza, suffered from a scarcity of electrical energy, gas, medical tools and medicines.
Medical employees had been solely in a position to carry out 20 operations, with painkillers however with out anesthesia, of their three geared up working rooms, Dr. Sabbah stated. Like meals provides, medical support has turn into scarce over the past 4 months, leaving the few hospitals nonetheless working struggling to deal with sufferers past first support.
Dr. Sabbah warned that most of the wounded from Thursday’s capturing couldn’t be correctly handled of their hospital.
“Within the I.C.U. there are sufferers who want specializations and medicines and want sophisticated surgical procedures,” he stated. “Their solely hope is to be transferred exterior of Gaza to be handled.”
Nader Ibrahim contributed reporting.
