Gaza: More than 100 people were killed amid devastating scenes in northern Gaza, where Israeli troops opened fire Thursday, triggering panic as hungry Palestinian civilians were gathering around food aid trucks, Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses said.
People had swarmed around newly arrived aid trucks in western Gaza City in the hope of getting food, when Israeli forces started shooting, according to witnesses. Many of the victims died when they were run over by trucks in the ensuing panic, according to one account.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 112 people were killed and more than 760 injured in the incident, one of the deadliest since the war in Gaza began.
The tragedy comes as the death toll in the Gaza war surpasses 30,000 with more than half a million people in the enclave on the brink of famine, according to United Nations agencies and as negotiations between Israel and Hamas reach a potentially pivotal moment.
The incident unfolded early on Friday when a group of trucks carrying desperately needed aid arrived at Haroun Al Rasheed Street in western Gaza City, in the Sheikh Ajleen neighbourhood.