IDF says troops fired at 'suspects' in deadly food aid incident but denies targeting convoy

Source: CNN

IDF says troops fired at ‘suspects’ in deadly food aid incident but denies targeting convoy

By Elliott Gotkine, Mia Alberti and Rob Picheta, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 9:27 AM EST, Fri March 8, 2024

(CNN) — Israel’s military has said its investigation into the deadly humanitarian aid incident in Gaza last month found Israeli troops did not fire at the aid convoy, but at “a number of suspects” who approached and posed a threat to nearby forces, a conclusion swiftly rejected by Palestinian authorities.

More than 100 people were killed in the incident in northern Gaza, which has become known as the “Flour Massacre,” as Israeli troops opened fire near civilians gathering around food aid trucks, triggering panic.

A local journalist in Gaza, Khader Al Za’anoun, who was at the scene and witnessed the incident, said at the time that the chaos and confusion only began once Israeli troops opened fire, and that many of the victims were run over by trucks in the ensuing panic.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said at least 118 people were killed and more than 700 injured, making it one of the deadliest incidents since the war in Gaza began. CNN cannot independently confirm the figures.

“The command review found that IDF troops did not fire at the humanitarian convoy but did fire at a number of suspects who approached the nearby forces and posed a threat to them,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a summary of the report released Friday.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/08/middleeast/gaza-flour-massacre-idf-report-intl/index.html