Condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza grows after dozens die waiting for aid

An Israeli armoured personnel carrier moves near the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

Turkey has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in condemning Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid, with its foreign ministry calling the event “yet another crime against humanity”.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid in Gaza City, and that its troops fired only when they felt endangered by the crowd.

The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded.

That brings the Palestinian death toll to more than 30,000 in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a blistering offensive in the Gaza Strip that has created a humanitarian catastrophe and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.

In a statement issued late on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza”.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden said the US was still trying to determine what happened. Asked if the loss of life would complicate efforts broker a ceasefire, he said: “I know it will.”