They went out within the 1000’s, tenting in a single day alongside the coastal highway within the chilly Gaza evening — making small fires to maintain heat — huddled collectively ready for provides to come back so they may feed their households.
What they encountered was loss of life and damage, as Israeli forces opened hearth towards hungry, determined Palestinians who surged ahead when assist vans lastly arrived within the predawn darkish on Thursday, in response to three eyewitnesses and a health care provider who handled the wounded.
“I noticed issues I by no means ever thought I might see,” mentioned Mohammed Al-Sholi, who had camped out in a single day for an opportunity at getting meals for his household. “I noticed folks falling to the bottom after being shot and others merely took the meals objects that had been with them and continued working for his or her lives.”
Greater than 100 Palestinians had been killed Thursday morning, Gazan well being officers mentioned, when Israeli forces opened hearth as big crowds of individuals thronged across the assist vans.
An Israeli navy spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, acknowledged that Israeli troops had opened hearth “when a mob moved in a fashion which endangered them” with out giving particulars. However he denied the troopers had fired at individuals who had been making an attempt to get meals. “We didn’t hearth on these in search of assist, regardless of the accusations,” he mentioned. Many of the deaths had been attributable to trampling in a stampede, Admiral Hagari mentioned, and a few folks had been hit by assist vans.
The truck convoy was lengthy and it was troublesome to find out what occurred within the darkness at completely different places. However Mr. Al-Sholi and two different witnesses mentioned in phone interviews that they noticed Israeli forces firing instantly at folks as they tried to succeed in the convoy. Mr. Al-Sholi mentioned he additionally noticed some folks hit by the vans within the chaos. A health care provider at a close-by hospital described seeing scores of individuals with gunshot wounds.
Huge teams of individuals have camped out for assist or raced to convoys in latest weeks, hoping for some deliverance from the extreme starvation that has gripped northern Gaza via practically 5 months of an Israeli offensive that has included intense bombardment, a siege and a floor invasion.
Mr. Al-Sholi, a 34-year-old taxi driver, mentioned he was compelled to affix the 1000’s of individuals gathered close to the Nabulsi roundabout in Gaza Metropolis as a result of he and his household, together with three younger kids, are surviving off little however the spices, minced wheat and wild greens that they will discover.
On Wednesday, he had heard that individuals had obtained luggage of flour from assist vans, and there have been rumors that one other convoy was coming. So on round 7 p.m., he went to the Nabulsi roundabout with mates to attend.
He mentioned he had by no means seen so many individuals gathered in a single place. Others described tens of 1000’s of individuals ready.
“Proper earlier than the vans arrived, a tank began to maneuver towards us, it was round 3:30 a.m. and fired few photographs within the air,” Mr. Al-Sholi mentioned in a cellphone interview. “That tank fired at the least one shell. It was darkish and I ran again towards a destroyed constructing and took shelter there.”
When the help vans arrived quickly after, folks ran towards them in desperation, and the gunfire began, the witnesses mentioned.
“As standard, when the help vans arrived, folks ran towards them to get food and drinks and no matter else they may get,” mentioned Mohammad Hamoudeh, a photographer in Gaza Metropolis. However when folks reached the vans, he mentioned, “the tanks began firing instantly on the folks.”
He added, “I noticed them firing direct machine gun hearth.”
Mr. Hamoudeh mentioned that, regardless of the worry and panic on the scene, many nonetheless rushed to the provides. “Individuals had been terrified however not everybody, there have been those that risked loss of life simply so they may get meals,” he mentioned. “They simply wish to dwell.”
The witnesses mentioned that the tanks fired shells towards folks even after they started to run away. They mentioned tanks arrived between 3 and 4 a.m. and began firing repeatedly towards the Gazans, stopping at round 7 a.m.
The Israeli navy didn’t reply to questions on whether or not Israeli tanks opened hearth earlier than or after the help vans arrived. Admiral Hagari mentioned the vans had neared Gaza Metropolis round 4:45 a.m.
Partial drone video footage launched by the Israeli navy, together with social media movies of the scene analyzed by The New York Instances, don’t totally clarify the sequence of occasions. Movies present panic, together with folks ducking for canopy and taking meals from vans.
Mr. Al-Sholi described chaos as he ran from the help vans and folks round him had been hit.
“I noticed folks falling to the bottom,” Mr. Al-Sholi mentioned. “The person subsequent to me was shot within the arm with a bullet and misplaced his finger instantly.”
As he fled, he mentioned, he noticed about 30 folks on the bottom, both killed or wounded. A kind of killed was his cousin, who was shot whereas working with a bag of flour, he mentioned. About 150 meters away from one of many tanks, he recalled seeing a boy, about 12 years outdated, mendacity on the bottom along with his face lined with blood.
A 3rd witness, a journalist who spoke on the situation of anonymity for worry of retaliation from the Israeli navy, mentioned the Israeli hearth was so intense it was troublesome to get to the wounded.
Not one of the witnesses reported seeing individuals who had been trampled to loss of life. Mr. Al-Sholi mentioned he noticed some individuals who had been hit by vans. On Thursday, a health care provider who went to the scene, Yehia Al Masri, mentioned he noticed dozens of individuals with gunshot wounds but additionally individuals who appeared to have died in a stampede or to have been hit by assist vans.
The tanks stopped firing round 7 a.m., however they didn’t pull again. Individuals began dragging or carrying the useless and wounded, saying the Muslim declaration of religion as they did so fearing the tanks would begin firing once more, mentioned Mr. Hamoudeh.
A couple of mile away ambulances had gathered, unable to get any nearer, for worry of being fired on by Israeli forces. Some folks carried or introduced the wounded to them on donkey carts, or took them to hospitals on their very own.
Round 150 wounded folks and 12 of these killed arrived on the Kamal Adwan Hospital, mentioned Dr. Eid Sabbah, the pinnacle of nursing there. He mentioned about 95 p.c of the accidents had been gunshot wounds within the chest and stomach.
Most of the wounded had been in vital situation and required surgical procedure. However the hospital, just like the few others nonetheless functioning in Gaza, suffered from a scarcity of electrical energy, gasoline, medical gear and drugs.
Medical employees had been solely capable of carry out 20 operations, with painkillers however with out anesthesia, of their three outfitted working rooms, Dr. Sabbah mentioned. Like meals provides, medical assist has develop into scarce during the last 4 months, leaving the few hospitals nonetheless working struggling to deal with sufferers past first assist.
Dr. Sabbah warned that most of the wounded from Thursday’s capturing couldn’t be correctly handled of their hospital.
“Within the I.C.U. there are sufferers who want specializations and medicines and wish sophisticated surgical procedures,” he mentioned. “Their solely hope is to be transferred outdoors of Gaza to be handled.”
Nader Ibrahim contributed reporting.