Health authorities in Gaza said on Thursday Israeli fire on people waiting for aid near Gaza City had killed more than 70 and wounded 280, with one hospital saying it had received 10 bodies and dozens of injured patients.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said many of the people were killed in the incident as they lined up for humanitarian assistance at al-Nabusi roundabout west of Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.
Medical teams were unable to cope with the volume and severity of injuries from dozens of wounded people who arrived at al-Shifa hospital, Qidra said.
The head of Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza City, Hussam Abu Safieyah, said it had received 10 dead bodies and dozens of wounded patients from the incident west of the city.
“We don’t know how many there are in other hospitals,” Safieyah told Reuters by phone.
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Israeli military unaware of incident
Hamas warned in a statement that the incident could lead to the failure of talks aimed at a deal on a truce and hostage release.
Referring to the incident, an Israeli military spokesperson said: “There is no knowledge of Israeli shelling in the area.”
Videos posted on social media showed trucks carrying many dead bodies. Reuters verified the location of one video to al-Nabulsi roundabout that showed several men who were motionless, as well as several wounded people.
At least 30,035 Palestinians have been killed and 70,457 wounded in Israel’s military offensive since Oct. 7, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led fighters entered Israel, killing around 1,200 people including several Canadians, while seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Some 130 people remain unaccounted for.
UN rights chief says war crimes have been committed
Meanwhile, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday said war crimes had been committed by all parties in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, calling for them to be investigated and for those responsible to be held accountable.
“Clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law, have been committed by all parties,” Türk told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“It is time — well past time — for peace, investigation and accountability.”
Türk, who was presenting a report on the human rights situation in Gaza and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said his office had recorded “many incidents that may amount to war crimes by Israeli forces.”
He said there were also indications that Israeli forces have engaged in “indiscriminate or disproportionate targeting” in violation of international law.
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Israel has said it is doing all it can to minimize harm to civilians.
Türk said Palestinian armed groups launching indiscriminate projectiles across southern Israel and the holding of hostages also violated international humanitarian law.
UN Human Rights Chief <a href=”https://twitter.com/volker_turk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@volker_turk</a>’s new report <a href=”https://twitter.com/UN_HRC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@UN_HRC</a> today:<br><br>There are no bounds, no words to capture the horrors unfolding in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Gaza</a>.<br><br>We must see the humanity of the other & overcome mindsets engraved by generations of harm & rage.
—@UNHumanRights
Last month, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.
Türk said the prospect of an Israeli ground assault in the southern border town of Rafah, where some 1.5 million people are estimated to be crammed after fleeing their homes further north to escape Israel’s offensive, “would take the nightmare being inflicted on people in Gaza into a new, dystopian, dimension.”
