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EXPLANER
Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians who were rushing to remove food from a humanitarian convoy in Gaza, generating a wave of condemnation.
Here’s how things are going on Friday March 1, 2024:
Fighting and humanitarian crisis
- On Thursday, Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians who were rushing to remove food from a humanitarian convoy in Gaza City. At least 112 people were killed in the chaos.
- Initially, the Israeli military blamed the deaths on crowds and trampling, while an Israeli military official later said troops “opened fire on the crowd” after some Palestinians began moving towards Israeli forces in a way that “endangered” them.
- Hamas called the attack an “unprecedented war crime.” The AP office called the incident a “horrific massacre.”
- The Israeli military claims to have killed more than 13,000 Palestinian fighters in Gaza since the start of its ground invasion, which likely still leaves Palestinian armed groups with a significant force since Hamas alone had 40,000 fighters before the start of the invasion. last war in October, war observers said.
Regional tensions and diplomacy
- Thursday’s shooting drew swift condemnation from Arab countries and U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern that it would make it even more difficult to negotiate a ceasefire in a conflict that has lasted nearly five months.
- Meanwhile, the Austrian foreign minister urged Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah not to escalate the conflict along the volatile Israel-Lebanon border and expressed hope for a pause in the fighting in Gaza.
- Yemen also condemned Israel’s killing of more than 100 Palestinian civilians waiting for food aid near Gaza City, saying the ongoing “massacres” amounted to “war crimes and collective punishment of innocent people.” .
- Separately, veteran British left-wing politician George Galloway won a by-election in the northwest English town of Rochdale after running on a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli platform.
- In Russia, representatives of a dozen Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, are meeting for “inter-Palestinian” talks to discuss the formation of a unified government.
- In the United States, a statement from Biden urged House Republicans to pass a foreign aid bill to “help ensure Israel can defend itself against Hamas and other threats.” .
Violence in the occupied West Bank
- Israeli forces stormed the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and arrested two men allegedly involved in a deadly attack on Israeli settlers in the Eli settlement.
- Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes with stones on the outskirts of the town of Jalud, southeast of Nablus.
