Israel faces growing pressure over dozens of Palestinian deaths
Jerusalem:
The Israeli military has completed a preliminary review of civilian deaths on an aid convoy in Gaza last week, determining that forces did not attack the convoy and that most Palestinians died in the stampede, a military spokesman said on Sunday.
Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said a more thorough investigation into the incident has also been launched and will be handled by “an independent, professional expert body” that will share its findings as early as the coming days. .
Israel faces growing pressure on Thursday after a chaotic incident in the Gaza Strip killed dozens of Palestinians as crowds surrounded a convoy of aid trucks, soldiers opened fire and some countries backed U.N. calls for an investigation .
Health authorities in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said Israeli forces killed more than 100 people as they tried to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City.
“The Israel Defense Forces have completed a preliminary review of the unfortunate incident in which Gaza civilians were trampled to death and injured while rushing towards an aid convoy,” Hagari said.
He said the review, which gathered information from commanders and troops on the scene, determined there was no attack on the aid convoy.
“The stampede resulted in the death or injury of most Palestinians,” Hagari said.
He said: “After warning shots were fired to break up the stampede, and after our troops began to retreat, several looters approached our troops and posed a direct threat to them. According to a preliminary review, the soldiers shot some people There was a reaction.”
“We have launched an investigation to further investigate this incident, which will help us reduce the risk of such a tragic incident happening again during one of our humanitarian operations,” he said.
“This incident will be reviewed by the Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, an independent, professional and expert body. In the interest of transparency, we will share updates as the review progresses over the coming days.”
Hagari did not disclose details of who would handle the investigation.
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