Calls for probe, ceasefire follow Israeli gunfire near aid convoy
The Hindu
World leaders call for ceasefire and investigation after Israeli troops kill over 100 Palestinians in Gaza aid convoy stampede.
World leaders on Friday called for an investigation and a ceasefire nearly five months into the Gaza war, a day after dozens of desperate Palestinians were killed rushing an aid convoy.
Israeli troops opened fire as Palestinian civilians scrambled for food aid during a chaotic incident on Thursday which the Hamas-run territory's Health Ministry said killed more than 100 people in Gaza City.
The deaths came after a World Food Programme official had warned: "If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza."
The Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded the convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over.
An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat" .
Gaza's Health Ministry called it a "massacre" and said 112 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.
The fatalities helped push the total number of Palestinian war dead in Gaza to 30,228 mostly women and children, according to the ministry's latest toll.