Israel Gaza: Large number of gunshot wounds among those injured in aid convoy rush – UN

Many of the people treated for injuries following a rush on an aid convoy in Gaza on Thursday suffered gunshot wounds, the UN has said.

UN observers visited Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital and saw some of the roughly 200 people still being treated.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, has accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said most died in a stampede after its troops fired warning shots.

Leaders around the world have called for a full investigation.

The incident unfolded after hundreds of people descended on an aid convoy as it moved along a coastal road, accompanied by the Israeli military, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The World Food Programme has warned that a famine is imminent in northern Gaza, which has received very little aid in recent weeks, and where an estimated 300,000 people are living with little food or clean water.

In footage from the scene, volleys of gunfire can be heard and people are seen scrambling over lorries and ducking behind the vehicles.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has said that at least 112 people were killed in the incident and that another 760 were injured.

In a statement on social media, Danial Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said, “Dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling.”

Lt Col Peter Lerner also told Channel 4 News that a “mob stormed the convoy” and that Israeli troops “cautiously [tried] to disperse the mob with a few warning shots”.

Mark Regev, special adviser to the Israeli prime minister, had earlier told CNN that Israel had not been involved directly in any way and that the gunfire had come from “Palestinian armed groups”, though he did not provide evidence

Source BBC news