The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has debunked Hamas’ claim that it targeted a gathering of thousands of Palestinian citizens while they were waiting to receive food aid.
The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled directly by the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist group — claimed that more than 100 people were killed and more than 700 were injured during the incident, which they have portrayed as an unprompted act of aggression by Israel.
There has been no confirmation of the numbers claimed by Hamas, and the terror group has repeatedly lied throughout the war, which was ignited by Hamas’ unprecedented terrorist attack on October 7.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the incident that unfolded on Thursday occurred during the fourth night in a row that Israel brought in convoy trucks directly to the people of Gaza.
The IDF released drone footage showing thousands of Palestinians running to the trucks to grab what supplies they could.
Israel’s initial review of the incident found that the IDF fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse the stampede. Stampedes throughout history have proven to be deadly occurrences, with numerous stampedes across the world resulting in the deaths of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people.
The IDF said it was committed to following all international laws of war and would further investigate the incident to develop strategies to help reduce the risk of such a tragic incident from occurring again during one of our humanitarian operations.
Hagari repeatedly stated that Israel’s war was not with the people of Gaza, only Hamas, which is why Israel is facilitating aid, creating humanitarian corridors, establishing unilateral humanitarian pauses, and exercising caution in our use of force.
Israel’s ongoing campaign to wipe out Hamas was prompted by the attack on October 7, 2023, in which thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel and murdered 1,200 people, injured 5,300+, and kidnapped hundreds.
