Lara Villalón Istanbul

Istanbul

Updated Thursday, February 29, 2024-13:39

  • Middle East Israel, Hamas and Qatar downgrade Biden's optimism about an imminent truce agreement

At least 104 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 injured in

an attack by the Israeli army

on a crowd of

civilians waiting for humanitarian aid

in Gaza City.

The attack occurred with the

first food delivery in a month

in this area of ​​the Strip, affected by clashes between the Israeli army and Hamas that have caused the displacement of thousands of civilians.

Workers at a nearby hospital told the Al Jazeera radio station that citizens who came to collect humanitarian aid were

hit by drones, gunfire and artillery

.

Due to the abandonment of the area, practically devastated by the Israeli offensive, the health centers barely had ambulances and medical personnel to care for the wounded.

Just over a dozen affected people were taken to hospitals in ambulances, while the rest were transported with difficulty in carts pulled by donkeys.

Initially, an Israeli military spokesman told Reuters that they were not aware of any bombing in that area.

Shortly after, the same army claimed that they opened fire on a group of aid seekers in Gaza because

they got "dangerously" close to them

.

The general staff reported that the Palestinians were injured by "trampling" by the "violent" crowd that was trying to "loot" the aid trucks, they said in a statement cited by Israeli media.

The city had been practically isolated for weeks due to the conflict and those affected had come to the area following the announcement of the arrival of humanitarian aid.

It was the first convoy to arrive in 30 days, after the United Nations denounced the

worsening famine

of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians since the war began in early October.

Humanitarian organizations have condemned the difficulties they face in delivering humanitarian assistance, due to difficulties coordinating with the Israeli army, Egypt - which allows aid to enter across its border - and clashes.

Growing famine alarm has

accelerated international calls for a ceasefire

, in an attempt to slow the Israeli advance and allow the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Mediators hope to reach an agreement before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10, the deadline Israel has given Hamas to begin its offensive in Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

In this area there are more than one and a half million Palestinians displaced by the conflict, who Israel intends to relocate again to other regions of the Strip, which it previously considered unsafe.

Tel Aviv assures that it has a plan to transfer thousands of people, but has not given details of how it will carry it out in such a short time.

In almost five months of war, the Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused more than 30,000 deaths, two-thirds of them women and children.