While the toll of Palestinians killed this morning by Israeli forces while waiting for food aid near al-Rashid Street, south of Gaza City has risen to 104 - according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, which also speaks of 760 injured - a spokesperson of the White House National Security Council said the United States considers the shooting in Gaza a "serious incident."
“We mourn the loss of innocent human lives and recognize the difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza, where innocent Palestinians are only trying to feed their families,” the spokesperson said.
For its part, the office of Abu Mazen, president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), defined the episode as "a despicable massacre carried out by the Israeli occupation army, for which the occupation government bears full responsibility".
This was echoed by the Egyptian government, which in a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "strongly condemns Israel's inhuman attack against defenseless Palestinian civilians who were waiting for the arrival of trucks of humanitarian aid north of the Gaza Strip, and which led to a large number of casualties and injuries"
The attack, the note continues, represents "a clear violation of the provisions of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as a total contempt for the value of the human person".
Israel, 'The crowd looted the aid, it was a threat
According to the Israeli military spokesman, the soldiers opened fire after "during the entry of aid trucks into northern Gaza, residents surrounded the trucks", whose transit the Israelis were ensuring, and "looted the supplies". .
"In the accident - he underlined - dozens of people were trampled in the crowd".
Military sources report that the soldiers "fired at those who had surrounded the trucks" and that the crowd "crowded in such a way as to pose a threat to the troops".
Additionally, the Israeli military released an aerial surveillance video of the incident.
“The video shows how many people surrounded the trucks and, as a result, dozens were killed and injured from being pushed, trampled and run over by the trucks.”
The army said it would continue assistance in the transportation of humanitarian aid.
Video Gaza, Israel shows a video of the crowd assaulting aid trucks
Humanitarian aid packages launched towards Gaza have fallen into Israel
Packages of humanitarian aid, launched today from a Jordanian plane towards the north of the Gaza Strip, were carried by the wind and fell on
Israeli territory.
The military radio reported it, later reassuring the population that they ''don't represent any danger''.
The public broadcaster Kan meanwhile noted that today is the fourth consecutive day that planes from countries friendly to Israel have conducted aid drops towards the Gaza Strip.
So far, the broadcaster added, those launches had affected the south of the Strip, in the area between Khan Yunis and Rafah.
Today
they were launched in the northern sector, in Jabalya and at the Indonesia hospital..
The White House is also considering dropping aid into Gaza by plane as land deliveries become increasingly difficult.
"The situation is really serious. We need extreme measures such as airdrops," an official source said, quoted by American media.
However,
officials admit, airborne aid is limited because a military jet can only drop as much supplies as one or two trucks can carry.
So they can be used in an emergency but, the sources underline, the only way to send assistance to Gaza is by land.
Video Egypt drops packages with humanitarian aid on the Gaza Strip
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