At least 20 killed in Gaza as aid truck overturns
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At least 20 people have been killed and more than 30 injured after a truck loaded with humanitarian aid overturned into a crowd in the Gaza Strip, according to a report.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing medical sources, said dozens more were injured in the incident, which occurred in the central part of the coastal territory.
Crowds rushed to the truck on a road south east of Deir al-Balah. It remains unclear whether the incident was an accident or whether people seeking aid caused the truck to overturn.
The report said large numbers of starving civilians had gathered to receive humanitarian assistance, and the truck was allegedly forced onto an unsafe route by the Israeli military.
WAFA reported that as of Tuesday, the death toll from aid-related incidents reached 52, with 352 injuries, bringing the total number of such fatalities to 1568, with 11,230 injuries recorded in hospitals.
The claims could not be independently verified.
According to the United Nations, most aid trucks are looted by hungry civilians and armed groups after entering Gaza and before reaching their destinations, often resulting in chaotic and dangerous scenes.
The UN warns widespread famine threatens the war-torn territory, home to two million people, despite Israel having allowed increased aid deliveries for more than a week.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced pushback from the head of the military over his proposal to seize remaining areas of Gaza it doesn’t already control during a tense three-hour meeting, officials said.
Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, which it withdrew from two decades ago, and could lead to harm to the hostages being held there, sources briefed on the meeting said.
The Israeli military says it already controls 75 per cent of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began when militant group Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities in October 2023.
The UN has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza “deeply alarming” if true.
The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Netanyahu held a “limited security discussion” lasting about three hours during which Zamir “presented the options for continuing the campaign in Gaza”.
Netanyahu, who favours an expansion of military operations, told Zamir that so far the military had failed to bring about the release of the hostages, officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said the military would carry out the government’s decisions until all war objectives are achieved.
The prime minister’s office declined to comment further and the military did not respond to a request for comment.
Netanyahu is scheduled to discuss military plans for Gaza with other ministers on Thursday.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza that such a move “would risk catastrophic consequences… and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza”.
A Palestinian official said the suggestion of a full takeover of Gaza may be a tactic to pressure Hamas into concessions, while the Palestinian Foreign Ministry urged foreign nations to take heed of the reports.
The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing 251 hostages.
Israel’s military response has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 61,000 people – mostly civilians – according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel’s campaign has forced nearly all of Gaza’s more than two million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor called last week an unfolding famine.
with DPA and EFE
Reuters
