Explainer | Israel-Gaza war: what we know about aid convoy deaths
- The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said 115 people desperate for food were shot dead and more than 750 were wounded; Israel says most victims died in a stampede
- Several nations have called for an investigation into what happened, as have the European Union and African Union
Competing claims have emerged since dozens of people were killed in a scramble for aid in Gaza, with the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry saying Israeli forces shot them, but the army insisting most died in a stampede.
Here is what we know so far:
A witness said thousands of people desperate for food had rushed towards aid trucks on Al-Rashid Road in Gaza City before dawn on Thursday.
“The soldiers fired at the crowd as people came too close to the tanks,” the witness told AFP, declining to be named for safety reasons.
An Israeli military official said there was an initial “stampede”, involving thousands of people. Part of the convoy had then managed to continue on its way.
“Dozens of civilians rushed to the trucks, approached the tanks and the forces nearby,” the official said.
“Soldiers fired warning shots in the air and then fired towards those that posed a threat and did not move away.
