They went out within the 1000’s, tenting in a single day alongside the coastal street within the chilly Gaza night time — making small fires to maintain heat — huddled collectively ready for provides to come back so they may feed their households.
What they encountered was loss of life and harm, as Israeli forces opened fireplace towards hungry, determined Palestinians who surged ahead when help vehicles lastly arrived within the predawn darkish on Thursday, in line with three eyewitnesses and a physician who handled the wounded.
“I noticed issues I by no means ever thought I might see,” mentioned Mohammed Al-Sholi, who had camped out in a single day for an opportunity at getting meals for his household. “I noticed individuals falling to the bottom after being shot and others merely took the meals gadgets 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 mentioned, when Israeli forces opened fireplace as big crowds of individuals thronged across the help vehicles.
An Israeli army 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 looking for help, regardless of the accusations,” he mentioned. Many of the deaths had been brought on by trampling in a stampede, Admiral Hagari mentioned, and a few individuals had been hit by help vehicles.
The truck convoy was lengthy and it was troublesome to find out what occurred within the darkness at totally different areas. However Mr. Al-Sholi and two different witnesses mentioned in phone interviews that they noticed Israeli forces firing instantly at individuals as they tried to achieve the convoy. Mr. Al-Sholi mentioned he additionally noticed some individuals hit by the vehicles within the chaos. A physician at a close-by hospital described seeing scores of individuals with gunshot wounds.
Monumental teams of individuals have camped out for help or raced to convoys in current weeks, hoping for some deliverance from the extreme starvation that has gripped northern Gaza by means of practically 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, mentioned 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 folks had obtained luggage of flour from help vehicles, 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 pals to attend.
He mentioned 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 vehicles 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 mentioned in a cellphone interview. “That tank fired no less than one shell. It was darkish and I ran again towards a destroyed constructing and took shelter there.”
When the help vehicles arrived quickly after, individuals ran towards them in desperation, and the gunfire began, the witnesses mentioned.
“As traditional, when the help vehicles arrived, individuals ran towards them to get foods and drinks and no matter else they may get,” mentioned Mohammad Hamoudeh, a photographer in Gaza Metropolis. However when individuals reached the vehicles, he mentioned, “the tanks began firing instantly on the individuals.”
He added, “I noticed them firing direct machine gun fireplace.”
Mr. Hamoudeh mentioned that, regardless of the concern and panic on the scene, many nonetheless rushed to the provides. “Individuals had been terrified however not everybody, there have been those that risked loss of life simply so they may get meals,” he mentioned. “They simply wish to reside.”
The witnesses mentioned that the tanks fired shells towards individuals even after they started to run away. They mentioned tanks arrived between 3 and 4 a.m. and began firing recurrently towards the Gazans, stopping at round 7 a.m.
The Israeli army didn’t reply to questions on whether or not Israeli tanks opened fireplace earlier than or after the help vehicles arrived. Admiral Hagari mentioned the vehicles had neared Gaza Metropolis round 4:45 a.m.
Partial drone video footage launched by the Israeli army, 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 individuals ducking for canopy and taking meals from vehicles.
Mr. Al-Sholi described chaos as he ran from the help vehicles and other people round him had been hit.
“I noticed individuals falling to the bottom,” Mr. Al-Sholi mentioned. “The person subsequent to me was shot within the arm with a bullet and misplaced his finger instantly.”
As he fled, he mentioned, he noticed about 30 individuals on the bottom, both killed or wounded. A kind of killed was his cousin, who was shot whereas working with a bag of flour, he mentioned. About 150 meters away from one of many tanks, he recalled seeing a boy, about 12 years previous, mendacity on the bottom together with his face coated with blood.
A 3rd witness, a journalist who spoke on the situation of anonymity for concern of retaliation from the Israeli army, mentioned the Israeli fireplace was so intense it was troublesome to get to the wounded.
Not one of the witnesses reported seeing individuals who had been trampled to loss of life. Mr. Al-Sholi mentioned he noticed some individuals who had been hit by vehicles. On Thursday, a physician who went to the scene, Yehia Al Masri, mentioned he noticed dozens of individuals with gunshot wounds but in addition individuals who appeared to have died in a stampede or to have been hit by help vehicles.
The tanks stopped firing round 7 a.m., however they didn’t pull again. Individuals 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, mentioned Mr. Hamoudeh.
A couple of mile away ambulances had gathered, unable to get any nearer, for concern of being fired on by Israeli forces. Some individuals carried or introduced the wounded to them on donkey carts, or took them to hospitals on their very own.
Round 150 wounded individuals and 12 of these killed arrived on the Kamal Adwan Hospital, mentioned Dr. Eid Sabbah, the pinnacle of nursing there. He mentioned about 95 % of the accidents had been gunshot wounds within the chest and stomach.
Lots of the wounded had been in vital situation and required surgical procedure. However the hospital, just like the few others nonetheless functioning in Gaza, suffered from an absence of electrical energy, gasoline, medical tools and medication.
Medical employees had been solely capable of carry out 20 operations, with painkillers however with out anesthesia, of their three geared up working rooms, Dr. Sabbah mentioned. Like meals provides, medical help has grow to be scarce over the past 4 months, leaving the few hospitals nonetheless working struggling to deal with sufferers past first help.
Dr. Sabbah warned that lots 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 wish difficult surgical procedures,” he mentioned. “Their solely hope is to be transferred outdoors of Gaza to be handled.”
Nader Ibrahim contributed reporting.
