France calls for ‘an independent probe’ into circumstances in which Israeli troops fired at crowd seeking humanitarian aid
France has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza who were gathered to receive humanitarian aid on Thursday.
Stéphane Séjourné, the minister for Europe and foreign affairs, told France Inter:
We will ask for explanations, and there will have to be an independent probe to determine what happened. France calls things by their name. This applies when we designate Hamas as a terrorist group, but we must also call things by their name when there are atrocities in Gaza.
AFP reports Séjourné said his country would not apply “double standards”, and said that if an investigation should conclude that the Israeli shooting was a war crime, “then obviously this becomes a matter for the judiciary”.
Israel’s military has denied shooting into large crowds of hungry people and said most were killed in a crush or run over by trucks trying to escape. A spokesperson said Israeli soldiers only fired at a small group that moved away from the trucks and threatened a checkpoint. More than a hundred Palestinians were killed.
Key events
At least 30,228 Palestinians killed by Israeli military action in Gaza since 7 October – ministry
At least 30,228 Palestinians have been killed and 71,377 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.
Reuters reports the ministry gave the total casualties in the past 24 hours, which include casualties from the incident where Israeli troops are accused of firing at a crowd gathered to receive humanitarian aid, as 193 Palestinians killed and 920 injured.
Lebanon’s foreign ministry has echoed the earlier call from France for an independent inquiry into the killing of over 100 Palestinians in Gaza yesterday while they were gathered to receive humanitarian aid.
In a statement it condemned Israel for what it said was the “deliberate killing of dozens of defenseless Palestinian civilians and the wounding of hundreds”.
It said the events occurred “within the framework of the policy of starving and exterminating the Palestinian people en masse, which drives them to despair and adds fuel to the fire” and that they weakened “the chances of a just and comprehensive peace”.
It continued “The ministry also calls for the establishment of an international investigation committee to determine responsibilities and to prevent the party responsible for this crime from escaping accountability and punishment.”
Since 7 October there have been frequent exchanges of fire across the UN-drawn blue line that separates Israel and Lebanon.
We reported earlier that families of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are on the third day of a march to Jerusalem calling for their release. [See 8.10am GMT]
There is also a demonstration taking place in Tel Aviv at the US embassy, calling for Joe Biden’s administration to work for the release of the hostages.
Organisers of the Tel Aviv demonstration claimed that the US president is “more committed to the issue of the hostages than the Israeli government”, and it called upon Biden to “apply pressure and save the abductees from Hamas captivity and the extremist government.”
“Biden, Biden, Bring them home”
הפגנה של משפחות חטופים ופעילים מול שגרירות ארה”ב, בפנייה לנשיא ארה”ב בבקשה שיעזור:
“Help us!”
שרשור תיעודים מההפגנה ⬇️
צילום: נבט כהנא pic.twitter.com/3z65BCceTE— Or-ly Barlev 🎗 אור-לי ברלב (@orlybarlev) March 1, 2024
Their statement continued “These are critical days, a deal is on the table, Ramadan is approaching and every hour must be used to bring about an orderly solution.”
Hebrew media site Ynet is also carrying some quotes from the relatives of the hostages on the march, with Robi Chen, the father of the kidnapped soldier Itai Chen, saying:
We are on the third day of our journey, we left with a spark of hope that soon there will be a deal at the door and we still have faith … we need the people of Israel to explain to our government that there is nothing more important than the kidnapped, and without them there is no total victory.
Politicians from 12 countries unite to press for arms ban on Israel
Patrick Wintour
Patrick Wintour is the Guardian’s diplomatic editor
More than 200 MPs from 12 countries have committed themselves to trying to persuade their governments to impose a ban on arms sales to Israel, arguing they will not be complicit in “Israel’s grave violation of international law” in its assault on Gaza.
The letter, organised by Progressive International, is seen as the best practical measure possible to bring public anger over the 30,000 deaths of Palestinians in Gaza into the heart of parliaments, where calls for an immediate unconditional ceasefire have so far fallen on deaf ears or been rejected by national governments.
The organisers believe governments supplying arms are vulnerable to legal challenge given the scale of devastation in Gaza that they say extends beyond any definition of self-defence or proportionality.
The signatories are all MPs in parliaments where the governments allow arms sales to Israel. Nine are current or former leaders of political parties.
Read more here: Politicians from 12 countries unite to press for arms ban on Israel
In its latest update on the conflict in Gaza, the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had this to say about the food situation in the territory:
The risk of death from starvation in Gaza is reportedly growing, disproportionately affecting children and pregnant women, and is exacerbated by inadequate water, sanitation and health services, the severing of power and fuel supplies, and the decimation of food production and agriculture.
The entire food supply chain in Gaza has been severely disrupted with 97% of groundwater reportedly unfit for human consumption, about 27% of greenhouses destroyed, more than 40% of croplands and dozens of home barns, broiler farms and sheep farms damaged, more than 600 agricultural wells damaged, and the fishing sector grounded to a halt.
Here is our video report from yesterday which showed the aftermath of the mass deaths in Gaza, and includes some of the footage released by the IDF of the incident.
France calls for ‘an independent probe’ into circumstances in which Israeli troops fired at crowd seeking humanitarian aid
France has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza who were gathered to receive humanitarian aid on Thursday.
Stéphane Séjourné, the minister for Europe and foreign affairs, told France Inter:
We will ask for explanations, and there will have to be an independent probe to determine what happened. France calls things by their name. This applies when we designate Hamas as a terrorist group, but we must also call things by their name when there are atrocities in Gaza.
AFP reports Séjourné said his country would not apply “double standards”, and said that if an investigation should conclude that the Israeli shooting was a war crime, “then obviously this becomes a matter for the judiciary”.
Israel’s military has denied shooting into large crowds of hungry people and said most were killed in a crush or run over by trucks trying to escape. A spokesperson said Israeli soldiers only fired at a small group that moved away from the trucks and threatened a checkpoint. More than a hundred Palestinians were killed.
Emine Sinmaz and Quique Kierszenbaum report from the south Hebron hills in the occupied West Bank:
Salah Abu Awad says he is haunted by memories of the night he was woken up by Israeli settlers who burst into his home and threatened him at gunpoint.
It was one of the many attacks that forced the 28-year-old shepherd and his family to dismantle their homes and abandon their land in the village of Widada in the occupied West Bank’s south Hebron hills.
Abu Awad said he identified the intruders in a police complaint as Ely Federman and Yinon Levy, from the nearby unauthorised outpost of Meitarim Farm.
This month, the UK imposed sanctions on Levy and Federman and two other “extremist Israeli settlers” accused of “egregious abuses of human rights” against Palestinians.
“I hope the sanctions mean something,” said Abu Awad as he grazed his animals on a rocky, windswept hill. “We have suffered a lot from Yinon and Ely. They have confronted me many times, tried to steal my sheep, and ransacked my home.”
Read more of Emine Sinmaz and Quique Kierszenbaum’s report here: ‘They took our home, our land, everything’: Palestinians displaced by illegal settlers tell their stories
The families of people being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza are on the third day of their march from the site of the Nova music festival, which was attacked on 7 October, to Jerusalem. On this day they are expected to be joined by war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, and the marchers will be carrying. 134 stretchers, intended to symbolise the 134 hostages that Israel believes are still in captivity.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has said the country is “shocked” by the deaths in Gaza yesterday, and called again for an end to the fighting. They said:
China is shocked by this incident and strongly condemns it. We express our grief for the victims and our sympathies for the injured. China urges the relevant parties, especially Israel, to cease fire and end the fighting immediately, earnestly protect civilians’ safety, ensure that humanitarian aid can enter, and avoid an even more serious humanitarian disaster.
Al Jazeera reports that ahead of Friday prayers, the Israeli army has been erecting barricades at Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem to prevent worshippers from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque. This has been a regular occurance since 7 October. Yesterday Israeli media reported that the cabinet was still debating what restriction to impose on worship during the holy month of Ramadan which is expected to begin next weekend.
In Haaretz, Amos Harel has written an analysis piece on how the fallout from yesterday’s mass deaths may affect the ongoing course of Israel’s war against Hamas. He writes:
In contrast to the southern Gaza Strip, in the north Hamas’ control is slight and chaos is rampant. There is something of a paradox here: In the zones where Hamas is in control, distribution of the aid is more orderly, but the organization also loots shipments, and Israel (with UU backing) doesn’t want Hamas to survive in government. But without the organization, the chaos is only greater.
According to the Palestinians, more than 100 civilians were killed in a series of incidents that stemmed from the crowding and the despair in the Strip and a breach in the effort to distribute aid. This is a Somali-like situation, and it’s liable to repeat itself on an even larger scale as the chaos in Gaza becomes more acute. And there is no political settlement that will calm passions a little amid an attempt to impose order of some sort.
The Israeli version of the events appeared late, some 10 hours after the shooting. It’s doubtful whether the Israeli explanations will make a difference to anyone. Israel is perceived internationally as bearing the chief responsibility for the war’s consequences, even though Hamas initiated the murderous terrorist attack of 7 October, and its methods and views do not get much sympathy in the west.
The danger now is even greater. The chaos and despair in Gaza are increasing, the month of Ramadan is approaching, and the horrors of Thursday are liable to inflame the atmosphere in other arenas as well, such as the [Israeli-occupied] West Bank. The impact of the events could extend farther, into Muslim and Arab countries, which are already accusing Israel of massacring civilians. Israel has defeated Hamas militarily in large parts of the Gaza Strip, and has seriously degraded the organization’s operational and organizational capabilities; but Israel is not truly in control in the chaotic situation that its assault has fomented.
In its latest operational briefing, Israel’s military says it continues to operate in Khan Younis, where it claims to have “located a weapon storage facility containing numerous AK-47 rifles and ammunition”.
It also claims to have targeted “a pit in which rocket launchers were concealed” and to have killed several fighters.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Overnight in the UK veteran political agitator George Galloway – who has never been far from controversy during a lengthy career – has been elected to parliament. He won almost 40% of the vote in a byelection beset by chaos and dominated by the conflict in Gaza.
In an explicit attack on the leader of the opposition and man widely expected to be the next UK prime minister, Galloway said “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” he said. “You will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Gaza, in the Gaza Strip.”
You can read Josh Halliday and Aneesa Ahmed’s report here: George Galloway wins sweeping victory in Rochdale byelection, saying ‘this is for Gaza’
US calls Gaza aid convoy deaths ‘tremendously alarming’
The White House called the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians as they gathered around aid trucks “tremendously alarming”, with more reaction coming in to the incident.
The US President Joe Biden said it would complicate delicate ceasefire negotiations in the almost five-month-old war as state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters the United States was “urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place”.
Washington will be monitoring an upcoming investigation closely and “pressing for answers”, he said.
There were starkly different accounts of how the victims died in the chaos that took place near Gaza City in the north of the strip. Israel’s military denied shooting into large crowds of hungry people and said most were killed in a crush or run over by trucks trying to escape.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and said the situation in Gaza is “terrible”. Macron said in a post on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter:
Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday the incident would require an effective independent investigation. Speaking in St. Vincent and the Grenadines ahead of a regional summit, Guterres said he was “shocked” by the latest episode in the war with Israel.
Welcome and opening summary
It has just gone 9.30am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. I’m Martin Belam and welcome to the latest Guardian live blog on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis. I’ll be with you for the next while.
Reaction to the deaths of more than 100 people as they were seeking aid in Gaza continues to come in, with US President Joe Biden saying the incident would complicate delicate ceasefire negotiations in the almost five-month-old war and the White House calling the deaths “tremendously alarming”.
There are starkly different accounts of how the victims died in the chaos. French President Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and said in a post on social media that “I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings”.
More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest developments:
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More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest figures by the territory’s health ministry on Thursday.
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More than 100 Palestinians were killed as they gathered to receive humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday, health officials said. At least 112 people were killed and more than 280 wounded in the incident, the Palestinian health ministry said.
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There were conflicting reports about events leading up to the deaths. Witnesses said Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy, and Gaza’s health ministry described it as a “massacre”. Israel challenged the death toll and said many of the victims were run over by the trucks.
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Hamas warned it could end hostage release negotiations after the incident. In a statement, it said: “The negotiations conducted by the movement’s leadership are not an open process at the expense of the blood of our people.”
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Israel’s military published a video of what it claimed were people looting aid trucks in Gaza in the buildup to the incident. Due to forced relocation and the lack of access to aid, agencies have warned that much of the population in Gaza is suffering from food deprivation, with one in six children under the age of two found to be malnourished during screening in January, and reports yesterday that one in five pregnant women seen in a Gaza clinic are also malnourished.
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Egypt and Jordan issued separate statements condemning Israel after the incident. Egypt said: “We consider targeting peaceful citizens rushing to pick up their share of aid a shameful crime and a flagrant violation of international law”.
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The Palestinian ambassador to the UN on Thursday pleaded for the Security Council to condemn the episode in Gaza. “The Security Council should say enough is enough,” Riyad Mansour told reporters ahead of a closed-door meeting by the body, which came at the request of Algeria, reports Agence France-Presse.
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Two Israeli men have been killed in a shooting attack at a gas station in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, Israel’s army and medics said. The Israeli military said the gunman was “neutralised” by security forces, adding that troops were pursuing other suspects in the area.
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The US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said more than 25,000 women and children had been killed by Israel since 7 October. Austin added that about 21,000 precision-guided munitions had been provided to Israel since the start of its war in Gaza.
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A month after Israeli allegations that a dozen United Nations staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas attack, UN investigators have yet to receive any evidence from Israel to support the claims though they expect some material to be forthcoming “shortly”.
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Israel is reviewing possible curbs on access to al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem over the upcoming Ramadan fasting month, a government spokesperson said. Far-right interior security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said last week there would be a quota for people wishing to take part in prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan. Israel has been restricting the numbers attending the mosque since 7 October.
