Aid delivered to Gaza leads to dangerous situations for residents
Aid delivered to Gaza leads to dangerous situations for residents
3:27
Israeli forces fired gunshots within inches of a crowd that was waiting for a United Nations convoy carrying food aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
OCHA shared a video from around 3:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET) Wednesday, near the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Gaza.
The video, taken from inside a vehicle, appears to show gunshots dotting the ground just in front of a large crowd of people, who eventually rush toward the convoy. An OCHA caption says, “Israeli forces were firing warning shots just inches from a crowd.”
At least one person was wounded and was given medical care by UN personnel, OCHA said.
The Israel Defense Forces said the incident shown in the video is under review and “that any claim suggesting that the IDF deliberately fires at the civilian population is false and unfounded.” The Israeli military added, “Troops are permitted to fire warning shots only when faced with a threat, and carried out in a manner that does not endanger the population.”
More from the UN: Staffer Olga Cherevko can be heard narrating over the video. She explains that the team went to pick up supplies from the border crossing and had to wait about two and a half hours at an Israeli checkpoint. Once they passed the checkpoint, they were met with the crowd, she said.
In an X post accompanying the video, OCHA wrote, “No one should be forced to risk their life to eat.” The post added that UN convoys are “often delayed, and desperate crowds who gather to offload, are met with gunfire.”
Read more here: Palestinians are starving or being killed by Israeli troops while seeking aid almost daily.
