According to an initial investigation conducted by the Israeli forces regarding the humanitarian aid tragedy on February 29, Israeli forces stated that they did not target the aid convoy. Instead, they engaged individuals deemed suspicious, who posed a threat to nearby forces.
In a summary of the investigation released by the occupation army on Friday, March 8, it was claimed that "thousands of Palestinians swarmed around the aid trucks en route to distribution centers and looted the equipment they were transporting.” Additionally, it was stated that "the ensuing incidents led to significant harm to civilians due to stampedes and individuals being run over by the trucks."
The Israeli forces noted that during the gathering, “dozens of Palestinians advanced toward the Israeli forces near the convoy, reaching several meters from them, thus posing a real threat to the forces at that point.”
“At this stage, the forces used cautionary fire in order to distance the suspects,” the Israeli forces said. “As the suspects continued to advance towards them, the troops fired precisely toward a number of the suspects to remove the threat.”
Discrepant Israeli Narratives About the “Flour Massacre”
Over 100 Palestinians were killed in the tragic event at the Nabulsi roundabout on the Al-Rashid coastal road in Gaza, where Israeli forces opened fire at a crowd of thousands of Palestinians who were awaiting humanitarian assistance. This incident, referred to as the "Flour Massacre," gained widespread media attention.
Following the incident, Israeli narratives diverged, with Misbar previously noting that the occupation army initially refrained from denying its involvement in the "massacre" before subsequently retracting its initial account.
Reuters cited an Israeli official who stated, "dozens of Palestinians were killed in the chaos of stampedes and being trampled as they overwhelmed the aid trucks at the crossroads." The official further noted that "after the trucks advanced north, people approached the occupation forces, prompting them to perceive a threat and respond with gunfire, resulting in casualties, though the exact count remains unknown."
Daniel Hagari, the Israeli Military's spokesperson, categorically refuted that occupation soldiers had fired upon the aid convoy. Hagari asserted that thousands of Gazans had assaulted the trucks, with some engaging in violent acts such as pushing and trampling others to death, as well as looting humanitarian supplies.
Hagari affirmed the deployment of Israeli tanks to "secure the humanitarian corridor," underscoring their role in ensuring safe passage. He provided visual evidence, including an aerial footage, depicting a tank moving alongside a truck on a parallel path, with a group of individuals described by Hagari as a mob congregating around the truck.
Israeli Narratives Lack Substantial Evidence
Misbar pointed out that Hagari suggested the cautious withdrawal of the tanks based on unseen scenes, stating, 'Here you can see how cautious they were when backing up. I think, as a military man, they were securely withdrawing, risking their own lives, and not shooting at the mob.' However, Misbar noted the absence of any visual evidence or aerial footage to substantiate this claim.
Misbar additionally scrutinized the aerial footage released by the Israeli army and verified the presence of individuals lying on the ground in the path of the tank. In contrast to the initial probe by the Israeli occupation army, the footage did not depict any armed individuals in the vicinity. This incongruity indicates that Israeli narratives, despite their variances, uniformly assert that soldiers were in imminent danger, yet lack substantial evidence to substantiate such claims.
UN Experts Affirm Israeli Forces’ Responsibility in the ‘Flour Massacre
In a statement addressing the incident, UN experts condemned the violence perpetrated by Israeli forces unleashed against Palestinians who had gathered in Gaza City to get flour, describing it as a "massacre."
A coalition of UN special rapporteurs, in another statement, accused Israel of deliberately subjecting the Palestinian population in Gaza to starvation since October 7 of the previous year. Furthermore, they alleged that Israel is now targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys.
According to the UN statement, "Israeli troops fired upon crowds of Palestinians gathered to collect flour in the south-west of Gaza City on February 29, killing at least 112 people and injuring approximately 760 others." It underscored that the attack came "after Israel has denied humanitarian aid access to Gaza City and northern Gaza for over a month."
The statement highlighted that the 29 February massacre followed a pattern of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians seeking aid. Over 14 incidents of shooting, shelling, and targeting groups gathered to receive urgently needed supplies from trucks or airdrops were recorded between mid-January and the end of February 2024.
“Israel has also opened fire on humanitarian aid convoys on several occasions, despite the fact that the convoys shared their coordinates with Israel,” the experts said.
Israel Prevents and Restricts the Entry of Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza
The statement published by the United Nations indicated that Israel fails to uphold its international legal obligations and disregards the interim measures issued by the International Court of Justice on January 26. These measures were intended to facilitate the delivery of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, it accuses Israel of committing atrocity crimes.
The statement revealed that, prior to the Court’s decision, an average of 147 trucks entered Gaza daily. Since the ruling was issued, only about 57 trucks have entered Gaza between February 9 and 21, 2024. It stresses that "Israel systematically prevents and restricts the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by intercepting deliveries at checkpoints, bombing humanitarian convoys, and shooting at civilians seeking humanitarian assistance."
Chaos and Pandemonium Ensued When Israeli Forces Opened Fire
According to eyewitnesses in Gaza and several of the injured present at the time of the incident, Israeli soldiers opened fire on the crowd, causing a state of panic. Media outlets reported journalists who were at the scene stating that chaos and pandemonium started only after Israeli soldiers opened fire, and that several casualties were driven over by trucks in the ensuing panic.
In its investigations into the massacre, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor revealed developments confirming the involvement of Israeli forces in the massacre, including the type of bullets used.
In this report, Euro-Mid Monitor confirmed that “Many victims of the massacre suffered injuries from 5.56x45mm NATO bullets; which were fired from Israeli army weapons. A sample of 200 dead and injured victims revealed that they were indeed hit by this type of bullet, and that the bullets were discovered and examined at the massacre site along with shrapnel found in the bodies of the wounded and dead.”
The Euro-Med Monitor added, 'Upon conducting the necessary inquiry into this specific bullet type, Euro-Med Monitor discovered that it is fired from assault rifles like the M4 and Tavor, as well as light machine guns (LMG) such as the IWI Negev.' They pointed out that the examination conducted on this type of bullet shows that it is used by the Israeli army.
The Euro-Med Monitor documented testimonies from citizens who were present at the time of the massacre, stating that Israeli forces started shooting directly at civilians who were waiting for aid at approximately 4:10 a.m. on Thursday, February 29.
The Euro-Mid Monitor quoted witnesses as saying, “At 5:30 a.m., the Israeli army raided the entire gathering, where many people were lying injured, killed, or attempting to flee. Many people at the site were taken into custody, while others were forced to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces directly executed others and left their bodies on a nearby beach.”
Euro-Med highlighted four additional pieces of evidence confirming the Israeli army’s full involvement in the massacre, including “signs of injuries on the bodies of the dead and injured, videos published by eyewitnesses to the incident, and the clear sound of bullets coming from Israeli tanks stationed towards the coast.” Additionally, the state of sheer panic and intimidation affected all civilians present, pushing them to flee in all directions in search of shelter, even those who were far away from the aid trucks.
Fears of Famine Spreading in the Gaza Strip
This massacre occurred at a time when thousands of Gaza Strip residents are suffering from malnutrition due to insufficient food availability and Israel's obstruction of humanitarian aid entry. This situation has led to the death of several children in Kamal Adwan Hospital, amidst concerns of an imminent famine crisis in the region.
There are approximately 335,000 children under the age of five in the Gaza Strip who are highly vulnerable to acute malnutrition, posing a serious negative impact on their development and fundamental right to health. According to the United Nations, at least 90 percent of children under the age of five are afflicted with one or more infectious diseases, with 70 percent suffering from diarrhea.
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