Israel planned Thursday’s attack on people receiving humanitarian aid in Gaza: Report

Media reports suggest that the Israeli attack on people waiting to receive humanitarian aid in Gaza on Thursday, which resulted in the deaths of 118 Palestinians and injuries to over 750 others, was planned by Tel Aviv in collaboration with local Palestinian entrepreneurs. According to Anadolu, the attack was designed to appear as a genuine humanitarian aid delivery.

Israeli officials, Palestinian businessmen, and Western diplomats have disclosed that Tel Aviv had been planning at least four aid convoys to northern Gaza over the past week, as reported by the New York Times.

Two Western diplomats, speaking to the US daily, stated that Israeli officials had informed them of the motives behind these actions. The Israeli government purportedly initiated these efforts to address the dire humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, where famine is threatening lives due to the suspension of most international aid operations, diplomats said on condition of anonymity.

This suspension comes amidst Israeli restrictions on aid trucks and escalating lawlessness in the region.

According to two Gazan businessmen, Israeli officials contacted multiple local entrepreneurs, seeking their assistance in coordinating private aid convoys to northern Gaza, with Israel offering security support.

Jawdat Khoudary, one of the Palestinian businessmen involved in organizing some of the Israeli aid trucks for the relief initiative, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating: “My family, friends, and neighbors are dying from hunger.”

On Thursday morning, Israeli forces shelled a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City at the “al-Nabulsi Roundabout” area, leaving at least 112 Palestinians dead and 760 others injured, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

The Israeli military stated that an initial investigation found that some Palestinians approached a military checkpoint overseeing the entry of the aid trucks, with soldiers firing warning shots and shooting at the legs of Palestinians who continued to move toward the troops.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has reportedly killed 30,410 people and injured 71,700 others, causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

As a result of the Israeli war, 85% of Gaza’s population has been pushed into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to cease genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.