Israeli Troops Fire on Palestinian Crowd, Over 100 Dead in Chaos

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Facts

  • Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses on Thursday reported that Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians gathered around newly arrived aid trucks in western Gaza City. Over 100 people were killed by the gunfire and resulting chaos.1
  • Israel disputed the number of fatalities and called its actions 'a limited response.' Israel said that hundreds of people surrounded the trucks, leading to some being run over. Then, remnants of the crowd reportedly approached nearby Israeli forces, who first fired warning shots before shooting at whom they deemed a threat.2
  • Contrasting the Israeli military's telling of the incident, an Al Jazeera reporter who was present at the scene said that Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians trying to get flour. Israeli tanks then advanced into the area, allegedly running over the dead and injured. Gaza's Health Ministry labeled the incident a 'massacre.'3
  • Referring to the incident, US Pres. Joe Biden said on Thursday that it would complicate the current cease-fire negotiations. The White House said that it had asked Israel to thoroughly investigate and provide more information about the context.4
  • Biden also walked back comments he made earlier this week saying that a cease-fire deal would be agreed upon by this coming Monday, saying instead that he was 'hopeful' but that it was unlikely that this timeline would be achieved.5
  • Gaza's Health Ministry said on Thursday that the war's official death toll has surpassed 30K Palestinians, most of whom were women and children. The official Israeli death toll on Oct. 7 stands at around 1.2K people (and there are still over 100 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip).6

Sources: 1CNN, 2Reuters, 3Al Jazeera, 4Axios, 5Associated Press and 6The New York Times.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CBS. Due to the complicated nature of unfortunate incidents like this one, Israel must conduct a thorough investigation to maintain its moral high ground and demonstrate that it's serious about ending this war. The US has proudly stood by Israel in its war against Hamas' terrorist forces. However, with every passing day that a temporary cease-fire is not in effect, Israel loses the strategic gains it has made and isolates itself on the international stage.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by The Jerusalem Post. Thursday's tragic security incident was an unfortunate reminder of one of the many difficulties Israel is facing. Footage from the incident clearly shows hundreds of Palestinians aggressively attacking the aid trucks, and Israeli forces did their best in a bad situation. The international community, even as it forgets Hamas' Oct. 7 atrocities, must remember that Israel did not want this war and it has been forced to take dramatic action to ensure its survival.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Israel has committed yet another terrible massacre in Gaza only to be greeted with calls for an investigation and restraint. There already is more than enough evidence to suggest that Israeli forces fired indiscriminately into the crowds of terrified and hungry Palestinians barely managing to survive. Indeed, this massacre is another reminder of the lack of accountability Israel faces as it mercilessly continues its brutal campaign against Palestinians.

Predictions