What’s Happening
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced that Colombia is halting all arms purchases from Israel following an Israeli attack this morning in northern Gaza.
The attack occurred when Israeli forces opened fire upon a large group of Palestinian civilians who were waiting to receive food aid from several aid trucks the Israeli’s were operating.
President Petro referred to the action as genocide, stating “asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Netanyahu. This is called genocide and is reminiscent of the Holocaust even if the world powers do not like to recognize it”.
Pidiendo comida, mas de 100 palestinos fueron asesinados por Netanyahu. Esto se llama genocidio y recuerda el Hocausto así a los poderes mundiales no les guste reconocerlo.
El mundo debe bloquear a Netanyahu. Colombia suspende toda compra de armas a Israel. https://t.co/o5aLu7DCA6
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) February 29, 2024
He then further added “the world must block Netanyahu. Colombia suspends all purchases of weapons from Israel”.
Differing Stories
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 100 people were killed with several hundred more wounded after Israeli forces opened fire upon scores of people attempting to receive aid from aid trucks. After Israeli forces opened fire, people began to trample over each other as they attempted to escape the fire. This, paired with trucks apparently running several people over as they, too, were attempting to escape, resulted in a number of casualties. This story is corroborated by journalists present at the scene.
The Israeli side has made conflicting statements on the matter. When speaking to CNN on the matter, an Israeli official stated that “the crowd approached the forces in a manner that posed a threat”, prompting the Israeli forces to respond with “live fire” after the vehicles had been surrounded.
In contrast to this, however, is the IDF itself.
The IDF has released a series of statements blaming all casualties on people attempting to loot the aid trucks, when the crowds “began violently pushing, and even trampling other Gazan’s to death, looting the humanitarian supplies”.
The IDF published aerial footage of the incident, claiming that “the footage shows how numerous people surrounded the trucks and as a result, dozens were killed and injured from pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks”.
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IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari directly stated that IDF forces did not open fire on the “mob”, even at the “threat to their own life”. Hagari released a five minute long statement which breaks down the IDF’s story on the incident, which may be viewed here.
Hamas, several Palestinian sources and militant organizations, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health have described the incident as a “massacre” by Israeli forces.
When commenting on the incident, US President Joe Biden stated that there were “two competing versions of what happened”, and that the US was “checking” into the incident.
He further added that the incident was almost certain to harm ceasefire negotiation efforts, which he had expressed hopes for earlier in the week.