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According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians who were queuing for food, resulting in at least 112 deaths and hundreds more injuries. Witnesses and the Israeli military provided various descriptions of what transpired on the ground.
The killings at the aid facility, according to US President Joe Biden, will make the ceasefire discussions more urgent but also more difficult to negotiate.
It comes as the health ministry reports that since Israel's battle with Hamas started in October, more than 30,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza.
A new administration is being discussed by Palestinian groups in Moscow in the wake of the resignation of the Palestinian Authority cabinet last week.
Here's how you can support Gaza and Israel's humanitarian efforts.
Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses reported that Israeli troops opened fire in northern Gaza on Thursday, killing over a hundred people and inciting panic as starving civilians gathered near food relief vehicles.
The number of deaths has not been independently verified by CNN, and the Israeli military has provided an alternative version of events.
What is known: The slaughter began early on Thursday as a convoy of trucks bringing much-needed relief pulled into the Sheikh Ajleen neighbourhood of western Gaza City's Haroun Al Rasheed Street.
Witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire as crowds gathered around the just arriving aid trucks. According to one version, a large number of the victims perished after being driven over by trucks.
As the relief vehicles attempted to flee
an eyewitness informed CNN that more people were killed and injured when additional vehicles were unintentionally rammed in the vicinity.
Khader Al Za'anoun, a local journalist in Gaza who was present and saw the incident, said that the panic and mayhem that resulted in people being struck by the trucks only began after Israeli forces opened fire.
The IDF claims that since "the crowd approached the forces in a manner that posed a threat to the troops, who responded to the threat with live fire," IDF personnel did, according to an Israeli official who spoke with CNN. The civilians were gathered around the aid vehicle. The event is being investigated."
Press also heard Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman describe the event as "obviously a tragedy, but we're not sure of the specifics quite yet."
Foreign ministries, humanitarian aid organizations, and human rights groups unite in condemnation following what they describe as a "heinous massacre" perpetrated by Israel, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 individuals awaiting emergency food aid in northern Gaza.
Adding to the grim toll, the Gaza Health Ministry reports the tragic demise of four additional children due to starvation and dehydration in the region's north.
In a separate incident, a shooting rampage targeting the occupied West Bank settlement of Eli results in the loss of two Israeli lives, further escalating tensions in the region.
Meanwhile, President Biden engages in diplomatic discussions, holding crucial phone conversations with the Emir of Qatar and Egypt's President, underscoring international efforts to address the escalating crisis.
Amid the escalating violence, grim statistics emerge, highlighting the devastating impact of Israeli attacks on Gaza. Since October 7, the toll stands at a staggering 30,035 fatalities and 70,457 injuries, with the revised death toll in Israel reaching 1,139 in the wake of the October 7 assaults.
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