Hamas claims ‘massacre’ as 100 Gazans killed in stampede rushing towards aid

Hamas accuses IDF of massacre after Israeli troops open fire at crowd rushing towards aid trucks, probe shows most wounds were caused by stampede.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Over one hundred Gazans were killed early Thursday morning in a stampede towards aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip.

According to aerial footage released by the IDF Thursday, thousands of Gazans rushed towards approximately 30 aid trucks that passed an IDF checkpoint and approached Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood at around 4:00 a.m.

As the crowds thronged towards the trucks, which were delivering food to residents, hundreds of Gazans were caught in the stampede and were crushed. The stampede occurred on Al-Rashid Street in the Sheikh Ijlin area, just southwest of Gaza City, as the trucks were approaching Rimal.

In a separate incident to the north, just outside of the Rimal neighborhood, gunmen opened fire on another aid convoy, forcing it to stop and enabling them to loot it.

IDF forces operating in the air responded to the gunfire, firing at the legs of Gazans who approached IDF troops and a tank deployed to the area.

Dozens of Gazans were killed and hundreds injured in the stampede, with roughly a dozen more wounded in the second incident involving IDF troops.

Gaza health officials say at least 104 people were killed, with 760 more injured.

According to a preliminary IDF investigation, roughly ten looters were wounded in the incident involving Israeli troops.

The Hamas terrorist organization and WAFA, a Palestinian Authority mouthpiece, both accused Israel of a massacre, blaming the IDF for the casualties in both incidents.

The aid convoys were coordinated by the IDF, as part of an effort to prevent Hamas from either seizing the goods or controlling the flow of aid in Gaza.

Prior to the two incidents Thursday, Israeli forces have overseen the distribution of multiple aid convoys in northern Gaza recently without incident.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) said the shooting by the Gaza gunmen highlights the danger posed by the aid convoys to Israeli forces, calling for a halt to the flow of aid.

“We must give total backing to our heroic soldiers who are serving in Gaza and who acted commendably while facing a mob of Gazans who tried to attack them,” Ben-Gvir tweeted.

“Today it was proven that the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza is not only madness while our hostages are held in the Strip in the worst of conditions, but also endangers IDF soldiers. This is another clear reason why we must stop transferring this aid, which is in effect aids attempts to harm our soldiers and gives oxygen to Hamas.”