The latest on the Israel-Hamas war
“Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed,” the UN relief chief warns
From CNN’s Martin Goillandeau
The United Nations aid chief warned on Thursday that life is “draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed,” amid reports that more than 100 people were killed and hundreds injured in the strip while waiting for aid.
“Even after close to five months of brutal hostilities, Gaza still has the ability to shock us,” Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator wrote on X.
The UN aid chief added he was “appalled at the reported killing and injury of hundreds of people during a transfer of aid supplies west of Gaza City today.”
Aid site deaths will worsen “an already critical humanitarian crisis,” Oxfam policy lead says
From CNN’s Antoinette Radford
The deaths of at least 100 people crowded at an aid site in Gaza on Thursday will “only exacerbate an already critical humanitarian crisis,” Oxfam’s Occupied Palestinian Territory Policy Lead Bushra Khalidi told CNN.
Khalidi described the incident as “absolutely appalling.”
“It’s clear from the aerial footage that these civilians are desperate. You know, we don’t need more footage than this to show so the level of desperation that we’re finding in the north,” she said.
At least 104 people were killed and more than 700 injured in western Gaza City after Israel Defense Forces troops opened fire as hungry Palestinians were gathering around food aid trucks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. An eyewitness told CNN that though large crowds were waiting for food to be distributed from the trucks, the chaos and confusion that led to people being hit by them only started once Israeli soldiers opened fire.
An Israeli official told CNN troops did use live fire on the people surrounding an aid truck as the crowd “approached the forces in a manner that posed a threat to the troops,” adding that the incident “is under review.” Earlier on Thursday, an Israeli government spokesperson told reporters that the incident was “obviously a tragedy,” but Khalidi refuted that suggestion.
“It’s not a tragic event. The unfolding tragedy in Gaza is just a reminder of the need to address the root causes of this conflict,” she said.
“Attacks on health and the reduction of aid because of Israeli restrictions are unacceptable and violate international law, especially when we have an ICJ (International Court of Justice) order that is very clear where it asks Israel and member states to uphold their duties and responsibilities to ensure that there’s unfettered access to humanitarian workers and humanitarian aid in Gaza. And it’s not happening,” she added.
Talks involving rival Palestinian political factions are underway in Russia, state media says
From CNN’s Anna Chernova
Intra-Palestinian talks focusing on Gaza’s settlement are underway in Moscow, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports.
The meetings with the leading Palestinian factions began with a speech by the director of the Russian Institute of Oriental Studies, Vitaly Naumkin, in which he welcomed the participants and wished them successful work, according to the state media report.
The Russian foreign ministry earlier said representatives from Hamas and rival political faction Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, would take part in the talks.
Fatah spokesperson Hussein Hamayel confirmed to CNN on Wednesday the attendance of officials from the Fatah Central Committee. However, Hamas has not confirmed its participation.
The goal of the meeting was to find ways to “unite the Palestinian factions under the Palestinian Liberation Organization” and to form a new government capable of working in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Hamayel said.
In his opening remarks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for solving the problem of creating a Palestinian state in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly, and advocated resuming direct dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
CNN’s Matog Saleh and Celine Alkhaldi contributed to this report.
Israeli military says 2 separate aid truck incidents happened in Gaza — which contradicts eyewitness accounts
From CNN’s Jeremy Diamond
There were two separate incidents involving aid trucks in Gaza Thursday, an Israeli military spokesperson claimed in a briefing, offering a timeline that contradicts what eyewitness accounts have said.
What the spokesperson said: In the first incident, at about 4 a.m. local time, roughly 30 trucks with humanitarian aid went from the southern Kerem Shalom crossing into the north. The convoy traveled north across Gaza toward shelters along a coastal road. As they entered northern Gaza, thousands of people surrounded the trucks. The people then rushed the trucks, and dozens were injured and killed, with some after being run over by the trucks.
Subsequently, the spokesperson claimed, a group of Palestinians approached a Israeli military position nearby. The soldiers fired warning shots in the air and then fired toward those who “posed a threat and did not move away.”
“The truckloads went into the north, then there was the stampede, and then afterwards, there was the event against our forces. That’s how things transpired this morning,” the spokesperson said.
What eyewitnesses said: That timeline directly contradicts eyewitness accounts, which indicate that the Israeli military opened fire on people near the trucks, causing truck drivers to drive away in panic, killing additional people.
At least 104 people were killed and 760 injured in the chaotic incident, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza. CNN is unable to independently confirm these numbers.
Biden administration says it is monitoring “serious incident” at Gaza aid site
From CNN’s MJ Lee
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council said the White House is looking into the situation in Gaza involving food aid trucks and reports of dozens killed, calling it a “serious incident.”
The spokesperson also called for a temporary ceasefire in the war in a statement.
“We mourn the loss of innocent life and recognize the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where innocent Palestinians are just trying to feed their families. This underscores the importance of expanding and sustaining the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including through a potential temporary ceasefire. We continue to work day and night to achieve that outcome,” according to the statement.
Many victims at Gaza aid site were rammed by trucks in chaos after Israeli fire, local journalist says
From Khadder Al Za’anoun and CNN’s Abeer Salman
Many of the casualties in the chaos that erupted in Gaza at a food distribution site were killed as a result of being run over by aid trucks as they tried to escape Israeli fire, according to a local journalist in Gaza, Khadeer Al Za’anoun.
Al Za’anoun, who was at the scene and witnessed the incident, told CNN that, though large crowds were waiting for food to be distributed from aid trucks, the chaos and confusion that led to people being hit by the trucks only started once Israeli soldiers opened fire.
“Most of the people that were killed were rammed by the aid trucks during the chaos and while trying to escape the Israeli gunfire,” he said.
He said that around 20 were killed directly by the gunfire, and the rest were killed under the aid trucks’ wheels.
Israeli government spokesperson says the deaths at Gaza humanitarian aid site are a “tragedy”
From CNN’s Lauren Izso and Jennifer Hauser
Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman told reporters that people in Gaza who were killed while waiting in line for humanitarian aid are “obviously a tragedy, but we’re not sure of the specifics quite yet.”
What we know: At least 104 people were killed, and 760 injured in a chaotic incident where IDF troops used live fire as hungry Palestinian civilians were gathering around food aid trucks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
CNN is unable to independently confirm these numbers.
Civilians had swarmed around newly arrived aid trucks hoping to get food, when Israeli tanks and drones started shooting at the people in Haroun Al Rasheed Street in western Gaza City, in the Sheikh Ajleen area.
What Israel says: An Israeli official told CNN IDF troops did use live fire on people surrounding the aid truck as “the crowd approached the forces in a manner that posed a threat to the troops, who responded to the threat with live fire. The incident is under review.”
“I can tell you this is a developing situation,” Hyman told reporters.
“At some point, the trucks were overwhelmed and the people driving the trucks, which were Gazan civilian drivers plowed into the crowds of people ultimately killing as my understanding is tens of people. I don’t have anything more specific to that. It is unfolding,” Hyman said.
Senior Hamas member warns Gaza killings could lead to failure of ceasefire talks
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi
Hamas senior member Izzat Al-Risheq warned that the killing of people collecting aid from trucks in Gaza could lead to the failure of ongoing talks aiming at the release of hostages and a ceasefire.
“Negotiations are not an open process,” he said in a statement published by the Hamas on Telegram.
“We will not allow for the pathway of the negotiations…[to become] a cover for the enemy’s continued crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip,” Al-Risheq said.
At least 104 people were killed and 760 injured on Thursday in a chaotic incident where IDF troops opened fire as hungry Palestinian civilians were gathering around food aid trucks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
CNN is unable to independently confirm these numbers. The IDF said, “the incident is under review.”
At least 104 people killed and hundreds injured in Gaza while waiting for food, Palestinian officials say
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem and Khader Al Za’anoun in Gaza
At least 104 people were killed and 760 injured in a chaotic incident where Israel Defense Forces’ troops opened fire as hungry Palestinian civilians were gathering around food aid trucks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
CNN is unable to independently confirm these numbers.
Civilians had swarmed around newly arrived aid trucks in the hope to get food, when Israeli tanks and drones started shooting at the people in Haroun Al Rasheed Street in western Gaza City, in the Sheikh Ajleen area.
An Israeli official told CNN IDF troops did use live fire on people surrounding aid truck as “the crowd approached the forces in a manner that posed a threat to the troops, who responded to the threat with live fire. The incident is under review.”
The aid trucks tried to escape the area, accidentally ramming others and causing further deaths and injuries, the eyewitnesses added to CNN.
Dr. Amjad Eleiwa at the Al Shifa Hospital’s emergency room told CNN 40 of the people who were killed had arrived at the hospital.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya from Kamal Adwan Hospital told CNN that another 10 killed individuals had arrived at the hospital, while Al Awda Hospital in Jabalya confirmed the arrival of 3 other killed individuals.
The death toll and number of injured is expected to increase as many bodies and people are still out on the street, with ambulances struggling to reach those in need because rubble is blocking the way, Ahmad Abu Al Foul told CNN.
Responding to CNN, the IDF said “the incident is under review.”
“Early this morning, during the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, Gazan residents surrounded the trucks, and looted the supplies being delivered. During the incident, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling,” the IDF told CNN.
Oxfam International has condemned the attack in a post on X, saying it was a “gross violation of international humanitarian laws and our humanity.”
The death toll and number of injured have been updated to reflect the latest information provided by officials.
