The flour massacre is a major disaster even by the standards of the Gaza War (Al Jazeera)

Le Monde newspaper reported new testimonies about the "flour massacre" in Gaza, where on February 29, 118 Palestinians were killed and 760 wounded while waiting for a humanitarian aid convoy, and some survivors said they were targets of Israeli fire.

The French newspaper explained - in a report written by Clotilde Mravco - that rumors spread in Gaza City at the time stating that the distribution of aid had resumed at the southern gates of the city, and some actually came with bags of flour for the first time in weeks, at a time when hunger replaced fear of bombs in the suburbs. Destroyer in the north of the sector.

On February 28, Saleh (37 years old) heard about one of these distributions on the coast, and he hesitated to go there because “every time people get shot” while waiting for the convoys, especially since about 10 Palestinians were killed 3 days earlier in the Nabulsi roundabout. The United Nations documented about 15 incidents in which Gaza residents were targeted during distribution, which led to deaths.

Saleh says: “I haven’t seen white flour for two months. A 25-kilogram bag sells for about a thousand dollars. I decided to go there with friends. We went out early and lit a fire because it was cold,” said journalist Muhammad Qariqa, who went there and then left. “People were on the beach, others on the asphalt road, and some took refuge in the surrounding destroyed buildings.”

The "Cogat" office of the Israeli army, which is responsible for the Palestinians in the occupied territories, confirms that this aid came from countries and international organizations.

Shimon Friedman, spokesman for the Office for the Coordination of Government Activities to International Media, explained to Le Monde that the Israelis “helped coordinate the convoys with private service providers.”

According to Mr. Qariqa, the trucks are owned by a number of prominent Gazan families who were working in the transportation field before the war.

He died in my arms

According to Kogat, the convoy arrived at around 4 a.m. at the checkpoint on the Al-Rashid coastal road, and it consisted of 33 trucks, but Wissam Al-Shamali, who witnessed what happened, only counted “11 or 12” trucks.

After half an hour, the trucks were allowed to continue their journey accompanied by the tanks, and “when the aid arrived at the dam, people ran to seize it - says this 27-year-old Ghazani, and the Israeli tanks from the checkpoint started shooting at everyone.”

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 118 people were killed and 760 injured in what Palestinians called the “flour massacre,” but the Israeli army, which estimated that 12,000 Gazans were present at the distribution, says most of the victims died as a result of the stampede or were crushed by aid trucks.

But many witnesses say that the shooting continued for more than an hour - according to what the newspaper reported - which also reported the Israeli soldiers’ confession of shooting at 4:30 am and then at 4:45 am, and their claim that they withdrew at 5 am.

The army directly targeted some Palestinians, and wrote in a statement: “Our forces did not fire on the humanitarian convoy, but they did fire on a number of suspects who were approaching neighboring forces and posing a threat.”

But Salah refutes this and says: “They fired randomly at everyone who was present.” As soon as the shooting started, and 7 people were killed right next to him and he himself was injured by shrapnel under his eye, he decided to walk away and hid under the stairs: “I had no other choice. "I couldn't get back to the port side, I was surrounded. If I went down to the beach, snipers would shoot those who were there. On the main road, tanks also opened fire."

After a while, Saleh came down the stairs and started running, and he heard a young boy (13 or 14 years old) repeating, “I don’t want to die, take me to the hospital.”

He added: "I tried to carry him as I ran away and asked for help. He died in my arms. The shooting continued in the area, and it was indescribable."

Muhammad Qurayqa reported that the victims arrived at the emergency room at Al-Shifa Hospital at around 5:30 a.m., and “three-quarters of them had gunshot wounds to the chest, heart, brain, and shoulders.”

Rescue teams were unable to recover all the bodies, because Israeli forces were still at the site.

On March 1, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the Palestinians were believed to have been killed “by fire from Israeli forces, but also during stampedes and crushing by moving vehicles,” and called for a “prompt, independent and impartial” investigation.

The army says: "The investigation into the incident will continue."

Bilal Al-Issa came with his two brothers on February 29, and when he realized that the crowd was rushing towards the convoy, he became afraid and turned back, then “suddenly he fell and was not heading towards the trucks, and yet he was targeted. He was one of the first to die north of the roundabout,” according to his uncle, who was waiting for them. In the distance.

He confirms that the bullet hit Al-Issa from behind, and the young man died before arriving at the hospital.

Source: Le Monde