Gaza doctor says gunfire accounted for 80% of the wounds at his hospital from aid convoy bloodshed

The bloodshed underscored how chaos amid Israel’s almost 5-month-old offensive has crippled the effort to bring aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, a quarter of whom the UN says face starvation.

Injured people sit inside Shifa Hospital on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Gaza City. Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City on Thursday, witnesses said. (AP Photo)

The head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of those wounded in the bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy said Friday that more than 80% had been struck by gunfire, suggesting there had been heavy shooting by Israeli troops.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured Thursday, according to health officials, when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way.