Palestinians dispute Israeli narrative of latest Gaza City massacre

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Injured Palestinians and officials in Gaza have rejected Israeli claims regarding the "flour massacre," which targeted a gathering of citizens awaiting humanitarian aid from the south to the northern city of Gaza.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 760 others injured when Israeli forces shelled a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City on Thursday, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

According to witnesses, hundreds of Palestinians were waiting to receive aid near Dowar al-Nablusi when they came under Israeli fire.

The Israeli army alleged on X that Palestinian crowds intercepted and looted trucks, resulting in dozens killed due to severe congestion the truck was running over people, a claim eyewitnesses refuted.

Shuaib Shaban, injured in the attack, told Anadolu: "It was my first time going to the Nablusi area to get food for my mother and sister, who suffers from stomach problems."

"I went to wait for aid trucks and receive flour. I got a 25-kilogram (55-pound) bag, and as I got off the truck, the army shot me, injuring me," he added.

Injured child Abdul Karim Labad told Anadolu: "I went to Nablusi Roundabout to get flour because of the hunger affecting us."

Labad said: "Israeli tanks advanced ahead of trucks, firing at us. We fled to a hill with bullets flying beside us."

"My sister's husband and I fled, but gunfire hit us directly in the hand and back," he added.

Dr. Mustafa Na'im, the head of emergency at Kamal Adwan Hospital, told Anadolu: "Most of the fatalities and injuries went to get flour to alleviate hunger in northern Gaza."

He noted: "For a month, we've been receiving malnutrition cases due to food depletion under Israeli siege."

The Palestinian doctor appealed to "the Arab and Islamic world to stop the series of killing and oppression against our Palestinian people in Gaza."

Meanwhile, Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said: "The occupation had hidden intentions to commit a new crime, resulting in at least 112 martyrs."

"The number is expected to increase, with most injuries critical due to Israeli army bullets targeting the upper part of the people's bodies," he added.

Ismail al-Thawabteh, the director of Gaza's Government Media Office, denied the Israeli army's narrative, saying: "The Israeli occupation practices deception, spreads fake news, attempting to evade its heinous crime committed intentionally."

Al-Thawabteh also told Anadolu that "the lies spread by the occupation reveal its disgrace and collapse in the face of our steadfast Palestinian people."

"The occupation had hidden intentions to commit this massacre as part of genocide and ethnic cleansing against Gaza residents," he said.

He noted that "the occupation knew these victims came to the area for food and aid, yet it cold-bloodedly killed them."

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and 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.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Ankara