Slovenian president says Gaza attack that killed more than 100 civilians waiting for aid evokes memories of Sarajevo siege

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar said Friday that Israel's attack on civilians in the line for food around humanitarian aid trucks evoked the same feeling as the Markale market shelling in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

''Yesterday's events in Gaza, where lives were lost waiting for essential humanitarian aid, evoke a similar sense of shock and sadness. How many more lives must be lost simply waiting for food,'' Pirc Musar wrote X.

The Markale marketplace shelling was one of the bloodiest massacres committed by Bosnian Serb forces during the siege of Sarajevo from April 1992 to December 1995.

Shoppers in markets, people in line for bread, children playing in schoolyards and other civilians were targeted indiscriminately.

Pirc Musar said tragic events are unfolding in Gaza, where more than 100 Palestinians were killed during the delivery of humanitarian aid.

''The world is witnessing a staggering death toll of more than 30,000. This appalling figure serves as a reminder of the grave responsibility of those who perpetrate these acts of violence. It is deeply distressing to see history repeating itself in its most horrific manifestations. As a young journalist who once witnessed the horrors of the Sarajevo market attack, the memories of those killed remain haunting,'' said Pirc Musar.

Early Thursday, Israeli forces shelled Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City at the al-Nabulsi Roundabout area, leaving at least 112 dead and 760 injured, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said an initial investigation found that Palestinians approached a military checkpoint overseeing the entry of the aid trucks when soldiers fired warning shots and shot at the legs of Palestinians who continued to move toward the troops.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, 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 Gaza, 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 is 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.