The Israeli occupation admitted on Friday, 8 March 2024 that its troops did fire on Palestinian people collecting aid packages on Al-Rashid Street last month in which 112 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were injured in what was dubbed the ‘Flour Massacre’.
Thousands of Palestinians had gathered in the early morning to wait for several trucks bringing bags of flour to the north of Gaza, where 300,000 people are believed to be living in famine-like conditions following Israel’s siege which has blocked aid deliveries for months.
Testimonies indicated that Israeli troops opened fire on crowds of Palestinians who had gathered around the trucks at the Al-Rashid roundabout. At least 112 Palestinians were killed and over 750 were injured in the attack, Gaza’s health ministry said.
Immediately afterward, Israeli officials denied knowledge of the incident but later retracted their claims, admitting that it likely caused “no more than 10” casualties, with the majority resulting from a stampede and being run over by the aid trucks.
The atrocity triggered worldwide condemnation including from Germany, Qatar, and Turkey, who called for independent investigations and for an urgent explanation from Israel.
In its Friday statement, Israeli occupation announced it would conduct a deeper probe into the incident through its ‘Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism,’ responsible for “examining exceptional incidents that occurred during the fighting”.
However, human rights groups have historically cast doubt over Israel’s ability to investigate its military.
An investigation by the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor into the February aid atrocity found that “dozens of victims suffered gunshot wounds, rather than being run over or crushed, in contrast to what the Israeli army spokesman claimed”.
The organization stated that such unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians constitute “serious violations of international humanitarian law and are war crimes”.
A second investigation from the human rights monitors analyzed bullets and shrapnel found at the scene and in the victims which showed that the type of bullet came from assault rifles used by the Israeli military.
The organization said that such unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians amount to “serious violations of international humanitarian law and are war crimes”.
Throughout its offensive in Gaza, the Israeli army has been repeatedly accused of targeting civilians and killed more than 30,000 people, mainly women and children, in five-months of war.
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