Once again a Palestinian lie travels halfway around the world before the truth has the chance to put on its proverbial shoes. The mainstream media is amplifying Hamas’s lies over Thursday’s tragic stampede that left several dozen Palestinians dead in Gaza City.
Hamas-controlled Gaza ‘officials’ are inflating the casualty figures and accusing Israel of “massacre” and the media is willingly peddling the narrative without caring to verify the facts.
The initial probe by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) paints a very different picture. Palestinian terrorists, intending to plunder the humanitarian supplies, fired at a convoy of aid trucks surrounded by thousands of civilians. Palestinian “[g]unmen … opened fire in the area as they looted the supplies,” The Times of Israel reported.
The IDF troops were at the scene to facilitate the humanitarian supplies, the Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday evening at a press conference.
“This morning the IDF coordinated a convoy of 38 trucks to provide additional humanitarian assistance to the residents of northern Gaza,” Hagari revealed.
“As these vital humanitarian supplies made their way toward Gazans in need, thousands of Gazans something on the trucks, some began violently pushing and trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies,” he said.
“At 4:45 a.m., a mob ambushed the aid trucks, bringing the convoy to a halt,” he said, showing a video. “In this video, the tanks that were there to secure the convoy saw the Gazans being trampled and cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots.”
“The Israel Defense Forces operates according to the rules of engagement and international law. No IDF strike was conducted toward the aid convoy,” he concluded.
The Times of Israel reports:
The military said most of the casualties were caused by a stampede and being run over by the supply vehicles. Gunmen also opened fire in the area as they looted the supplies.The army said it did not fire at the crowd rushing the main aid convoy. It acknowledged that troops opened fire on several Gazans who moved toward soldiers and a tank at an IDF checkpoint, endangering soldiers, after they had rushed the last truck in the convoy further south.
The Israeli news website Ynet reports:
An initial IDF probe into a northern Gaza stampede that reportedly left dozens dead on Thursday found that Palestinian gunmen fired at aid trucks bringing essential supplies into the war-torn territory as large crowds gathered around them, with most fatalities resulting from trampling and crowding.
While most of the casualties were caused by the ensuing stampede, some civilians injuries may have been caused due to IDF fire, carried out it self-defense as the crowd came threatening close to the troops.
“An officer stationed in the area ordered soldiers to fire warning shots in the air as the Palestinians were within a few dozen meters, as well as gunfire at the legs of those who continued to move toward the troops, the probe said,” The Times of Israel added.
It is worth noting that Palestinian gunfire driving the crowd towards the IDF troops could well have been a ploy by Hamas terrorists to ambush Israeli soldiers securing the aid trucks. As I reported on November 2, 2023: “Hamas terrorists [were] hurling Gaza civilians, including women and children, towards Israeli soldiers as they carry out sneak attacks on them.” I was referring to the report by Ynet stating that Hamas was ‘pushing forwards women and children’ to as as ‘human barrier’ for is assaults on IDF troops.
Hamas has repeatedly attacked Israeli troops conducting humanitarian operations in Gaza, even at the cost of risking Palestinian lives.
As the IDF gears up to flush Hamas out of Gaza, terrorists based in the West Bank continue to target Israeli civilians. On Thursday, two Israelis, a teenager and a 30 year-old-man, were murdered when three Palestinian terrorists opened fire in the city of Binyamin. Further bloodshed as averted after an armed off-duty soldier eliminated one of the terrorists, forcing his accomplices to flee the scene.
The Israeli news website Arutz Sheva reports:
Two people were murdered in a terrorist shooting attack at a gas station at the entrance to Eli in Binyamin this afternoon (Thursday).There were two attackers. One of the shooters was killed, while the second was wounded and barricaded himself inside a nearby store. There is no concern that the second terrorist had any hostages.According to Magen David Adom, the two victims were a man in his 30s and a teenager who were found shot in a car.The IDF stated, “A short while ago, a terrorist arrived at a gas station in Eli and opened fire. The terrorist was neutralized. IDF soldiers are blocking off routes and pursuing additional suspects in the area.”
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