The United Nations Security Council has expressed “deep concern” over a devastating incident that killed more than 100 Palestinians seeking aid on Thursday in northern Gaza, while acknowledging that an Israeli investigation is underway.
“The council members express deep concern regarding reports stating that over 100 individuals lost their lives with several hundred others sustaining injuries, including people with gunshot wounds as observed by UN-OCHA, in an incident involving Israeli forces at a large gathering surrounding a humanitarian assistance convoy southwest of Gaza City,” the Security Council said in a statement Saturday.
“The council members take note that an Israeli investigation is underway,” it added.
On Thursday, the day of the incident, Security Council members were unable to agree on a statement because of US objections.
The statement released Saturday said members of the Security Council “reiterate their demand for parties to the conflict to allow, facilitate, and enable the immediate, rapid, safe, sustained and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.”
“The council members urge Israel to keep border crossings open for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, to facilitate the opening of additional crossings to meet humanitarian needs at scale, and to support the rapid and safe delivery of relief items to people in all of the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.
The carnage: At least 118 people were killed and 760 injured Thursday when Israeli troops open fired on Palestinian civilians who were gathering around food aid trucks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.
CNN is unable to independently confirm these numbers.
Israel’s military has denied that account, saying it fired warning shots to disperse a crowd.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, citing a UN team that visited the hospital where survivors were taken, said many of the injured civilians had suffered gunshot wounds.
“From what they saw, in terms of the patients alive and getting treatment is that there is a large number of gunshot wounds,” Stéphane Dujarric said.
Following the incident, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said an effective independent investigation was required.
