Portugal 'deeply shocked' over killing of Palestinians awaiting aid in Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Portugal's foreign minister expressed grave concern Thursday over the Israeli army’s killing of civilians awaiting aid in Gaza, calling on Israel to comply with provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"Deeply shocked by the death in Gaza of over 100 people while waiting to receive aid," Joao Gomes Cravinho wrote on X, saying civilians and humanitarian operations must be safe under international humanitarian law.

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.

"We call again for an urgent immediate ceasefire & for safe access to humanitarian aid, in compliance with ICJ provisional measures," Cravinho added.

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.