Biden says killing of more than 100 Palestinians near aid trucks will complicate ceasefire talks
JoeBiden said moments ago outside the White House, while on his way to the US-Mexico border, that he’s reviewing the reports of Israeli troops shooting people crowding for desperately needed food aid in Gaza – but he already is clear that that the deadly incident will complicate talks on a ceasefire.
“I know it will,” the US president told reporters gathering on the south lawn at the White House as he left for a visit to the US-Mexico border today, when asked whether the tragedy Gaza unfolding in would complicate negotiations.
Health authorities in Gaza said the IDF fired on people waiting for aid near Gaza City on Thursday had killed 104 Palestinians and wounded 280, with one hospital saying it had received 10 bodies and dozens of injured patients, Reuters adds.
Biden added:
We’re checking that out right now. There’s two competing versions of what happened. I don’t have an answer yet.
The president also said that his previous comments that he hoped for a temporary ceasefire by Monday, in the battle Israel is waging in Gaza with the goal of destroying Hamas, would now “probably not” happen.
Joe Biden speaks to journalists before boarding Marine One at the White House on 29 February. Photograph: Tom Brenner/Reuters
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest figures by the territory’s health ministry on Thursday.
More than 100 Palestinians were killed as they gathered to receive humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday, health officials said. At least 112 people were killed and more than 280 wounded in the incident, the Palestinian health ministry said.
There were conflicting reports about events leading up to the deaths. Witnesses said Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy, and Gaza’s health ministry described it as a “massacre”. Israel challenged the death toll and said many of the victims were run over by the trucks.
Hamas warned it could end hostage release negotiations after the incident. In a statement, it said: “The negotiations conducted by the movement’s leadership are not an open process at the expense of the blood of our people.”
Joe Biden acknowledged the deadly incident will complicate talks on a ceasefire. The US president told reporters he was reviewing the reports and said “there’s two competing versions of what happened. I don’t have an answer yet.” The US is urgently seeking information on what took place in northern Gaza, a spokesperson for the US state department has said.
Israel’s military published a video of what it claimed were people looting aid trucks in Gaza in the buildup to the incident. Due to forced relocation and the lack of access to aid, agencies have warned that much of the population in Gaza is suffering from food deprivation, with one in six children under the age of two found to be malnourished during screening in January, and reports yesterday that one in five pregnant women seen in a Gaza clinic are also malnourished.
Egypt and Jordan issued separate statements condemning Israel after the incident. Egypt said: “We consider targeting peaceful citizens rushing to pick up their share of aid a shameful crime and a flagrant violation of international law”.
Two Israeli men have been killed in a shooting attack at a gas station in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, Israel’s army and medics said. The Israeli military said the gunman was “neutralised” by security forces, adding that troops were pursuing other suspects in the area.
The US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said more than 25,000 women and children had been killed by Israel since 7 October. Austin added that about 21,000 precision-guided munitions had been provided to Israel since the start of its war in Gaza.
Israel is reviewing possible curbs on access to al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem over the upcoming Ramadan fasting month, a government spokesperson said. Far-right interior security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said last week there would be a quota for people wishing to take part in prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan. Israel has been restricting the numbers attending the mosque since 7 October.
The archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his deep regret at his decision to refuse to meet a renowned Palestinian pastor if he shared a political platform with the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Justin Welby said in a post on social media he would now meet the Rev Dr Munther Isaac next week.
The pastor of the Christmas Evangelical Lutheran church in Bethlehem, who has been highly critical of Israel in Gaza, saw his Christmas sermon go viral when he said if Jesus Christ was born today it would have been under the rubble.
Recently I declined to meet with Rev Dr Munther Isaac during his UK visit. I apologise for and deeply regret this decision, and the hurt, anger, and confusion it caused.
I was wrong not to meet with my brother in Christ from the Holy Land, especially at this time of profound suffering for our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters. I look forward to speaking and praying with him next week.
Isaac replied:
Thank you archbishop. I welcome this statement, and I look forward to our meeting next week as brothers in Christ.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) was not involved in the aid distribution in northern Gaza today that turned deadly and resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people, the head of the agency has said.
“Another day from hell,” UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini posted to social media, noting that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war in October. He wrote:
An additional 100 people are reportedly killed & 700 injured when they were desperately trying to get lifesaving humanitarian aid from a convoy.
Neither UNRWA nor any other UN agency were involved in this distribution. When will this madness end?
Another day from hell.#Gaza reaches an unprecedented reported death toll of 30,000 Palestinians killed, while an additional 100 people are reportedly killed & 700 injured when they were desperately trying to get lifesaving humanitarian aid from a convoy.
US 'urgently' seeking information on Gaza aid deaths, says State dept
The US is urgently seeking information on what took place in northern Gaza, where health authorities said more than 100 Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces as they waited for an aid delivery, a spokesperson for the US state department has said.
Matthew Miller, speaking to reporters, said the US understands that Israel is conducting an investigation of the incident.
We are urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place. We have been in touch with the Israeli government since early this morning and understand that an investigation is underway. We will be monitoring that investigation closely and pressing for answers.
He added that Washington continues to make clear to Israel that all possible measures must be taken to allow the entry of more aid into Gaza.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, has said he is confident that the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah would adhere to a ceasefire if Israel did the same in Gaza.
Mikati, in an interview with Reuters, said a halt to fighting in the Gaza Strip as early as next week would trigger indirect talks to end hostilities along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.
He said a deal to halt military action in Gaza was “on the horizon” and could begin as early as next week, adding:
If we are able to reach a cessation of military operations in Gaza, then I believe that we will have ahead of us weeks packed with negotiations, so that we can reach what I have always called long-term stability in the south.
Najib Mikati at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
Asked whether Hezbollah had signalled a willingness to move forward with talks, the Lebanese leader suggested the “cooperation” shown by “all sides” to facilitate the maritime deal could be replicated for a land border deal. He said:
I am certain that the moment that Israel stops its violations against Lebanon, I am convinced that Hezbollah will not violate – or will not respond to something that did not happen.
Hezbollah itself has indicated it was ready to halt its cross-border attacks if a Gaza ceasefire comes into force.
Joe Biden discussed the “tragic and alarming incident” in northern Gaza with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, as well as ways to secure the release of Hamas hostages and a six-week ceasefire, the White House said.
A readout of a call between the US president and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, said the two leaders “underscored that the release of hostages would result in an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks”. It continued:
Both leaders grieved the loss of civilian lives and agreed that this incident underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, condemns the “incident” in northern Gaza in which “more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid”, a statement from his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.
The statement reads:
The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid. The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged north where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week.
Here are some images from the newswires from Gaza City, after more than 100 Palestinians were killed as they waited for an aid convoy on Thursday, bringing the total death toll since the start of the war in Gaza to more than 30,000, according to Palestinian health officials.
A man receives treatment at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, after he was injured in the early-morning incident on 29 February. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
People mourn after the incident on Thursday. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
A woman sits among Palestinians at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and urged Israel to protect the Palestinian population.
Posting to social media on Thursday, Tajani wrote:
The tragic deaths in Gaza demand an immediate ceasefire to facilitate more humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and the protection of civilians.
His comments came hours after the news that more than 100 Palestinians were killed as they waited for an aid delivery in Gaza City.
Tajani called on Israel to “rigorously ascertain facts and responsibilities” regarding the incident, which Gaza’s health ministry has described as a “massacre” and blamed Israeli troops. Israel has claimed that many of the victims had been run over by the aid lorries.
Le tragiche morti a #Gaza richiedono un immediato cessate il fuoco per favorire più aiuti umanitari, la liberazione degli ostaggi e la protezione dei civili. Chiediamo con forza ad #Israele di tutelare la popolazione a Gaza e di accertare, con rigore, fatti e responsabilità.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed her “deep dismay and concern” over the violence, calling on Israel to “urgently ascertain the dynamics of the incident and relative responsibilities”.
Two Israeli men have been killed in a shooting attack at a gas station in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, Israel’s army and medics said.
The Israeli military said the gunman was “neutralised” by security forces, adding that troops were pursuing other suspects in the area.
A spokesperson for Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency response service, said it received a report at about 5pm local time of gunshot wounds at a gas station near the Eli settlement.
It added:
We performed medical tests, but ... in a short time we had to determine their death.
More than 25,000 women, children killed by Israel in Gaza - Pentagon chief
The US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said earlier today that more than 25,000 women and children had been killed by Israel since 7 October 2023, adding that Israel can and should do more to protect civilians.
During a US congressional hearing (ostensibly about his health), Austin was asked how many Palestinian women and children had been killed by Israel, Reuters reports.
He said:
It is over 25,000.
Austin added that about 21,000 precision-guided munitions had been provided to Israel since the start of its war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, beyond the Reuters report, this is an extraordinary figure not just in the tragedy of it but in the mathematics of it. Lt Col Peter Lerner, the spokesman of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), moments ago told CNN in a live interview with anchor Wolf Blitzer that Israel has killed “12,000 Hamas terrorists” in its war in Gaza since Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October.
This morning, the Gaza health ministry said that the death toll in Gaza at the hands of Israel since then has surpassed 30,000 and the reality on the ground is probably higher.
Lloyd Austin testifies before a House armed services committee on Capitol Hill on 29 February. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
