In the wake of a rush on an aid convoy in war-torn Gaza that left scores dead, African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat on Saturday accused Israel of “the mass killing of Palestinians” and called for an international investigation.
“Mahamat strongly condemns an attack by Israeli forces, that killed and wounded more than 100 Palestinians seeking life-saving humanitarian aid,” the bloc said in a statement dated Friday but posted on X on Saturday.
“The Chairperson calls for an international investigation into the incident to bring the perpetrators to account,” the statement said, urging “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire”.
During a chaotic melee on Thursday that left over 100 Palestinians dead in Gaza City, according to the health ministry of the Hamas-run enclave, Israeli troops opened fire as Palestinian citizens rushed for food supplies.Following a warning that “a famine is imminent in northern Gaza if nothing changes,” a World Food Programme official confirmed the deaths.The convoy of 38 relief vehicles was besieged by thousands of Gazans, who, according to the Israeli military, staged a “stampede” that left scores dead and injured, some of them ran over.
An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it “posed a threat”.
Gaza’s health ministry called it a “massacre”, and said 115 people were killed and more than 750 wounded.
World leaders have called for an investigation, with President Joe Biden saying Friday that the United States would start delivering relief supplies into Gaza via air drops — as some of its allies have already — in a bid to get aid into hard-to-reach areas.
The most recent death toll from the Gaza health ministry puts the total number of Palestinian war dead at 30,228—mostly women and children—after the casualties in the aid convoy.According to Israeli sources, the conflict started on October 7 with an unprecedented attack on southern Israel by Hamas, which claimed the lives of roughly 1,160 people, the majority of them civilians.
On October 7, militants also grabbed roughly 250 captives; 130 of them are still in Gaza, including 31 people that Israel claims are dead.According to Israel’s military, since ground operations started in late October, 242 troops have lost their lives in Gaza.
