Colombia 'strongly' condemns Israeli fire on civilians seeking food in Gaza

By Sinan Dogan

Colombia has "strongly" condemned the Israeli soldiers' firing on civilians attempting to access food in Gaza, according to the country's Foreign Ministry.

In the statement, the Foreign Ministry expressed Colombia's firm disapproval of the indiscriminate firing by Israeli forces on Palestinian civilians awaiting humanitarian aid and food in the northern Gaza Strip.

Earlier Thursday, Israeli forces fired on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid at the Al Nabulsi roundabout on Al Rashid Street, a major coastal road to the west of Gaza City in northern Gaza, leaving at least 104 Palestinians dead and 760 injured, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.