The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday released the results of an investigation into a deadly shooting that occurred on February 29 near a humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza.
The incident reportedly left more than 100 dead and more than 760 injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures.
Southern Command Commander Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman presented the results of a review of the sequence of events in the shooting to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.
“The command review found that IDF troops did not fire on the humanitarian convoy, but did fire on several suspects who approached nearby forces and posed a threat to them,” the IDF said in releasing the findings.
STAMPEDE AND SHOOTING IN GAZA HUMANITARIAN AID DELIVERY KILLS MORE THAN 100, REPORTS SAY
The IDF released the results of a command review of a deadly incident on February 29 in which Israeli troops fired on Palestinians advancing toward them as thousands of people rushed to transport aid trucks, creating chaos that left more than 100 dead. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa, File)
The review indicated that as the trucks traveled toward distribution centers in the northern Gaza Strip, a crowd of about 12,000 Palestinians surrounded the vehicles and began looting the equipment they were transporting.
The looting created chaos and caused “incidents with significant harm to civilians,” including people being trampled and run over by the trucks, according to the IDF.
While the trucks were packed, the IDF said there were dozens of Palestinians advancing toward nearby Israeli troops, “posing a real threat to the forces.”
Warning shots were fired in the direction of the suspects (a statement the IDF has maintained since the incident) but the efforts were unsuccessful.
IDF SAYS TROOPS FIRED 'WARNING SHOTS' AS CROWD RUSHED TOWARDS AID CONVOY, LEADING TO MORE THAN 100 DEAD
“As the suspects continued to advance toward them, the troops precisely fired at several of the suspects to eliminate the threat,” the review found, according to the IDF.
The review's findings remain consistent with what the IDF has said about the deadly shooting since the day it took place.
The Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism (FFAM), an independent group responsible for examining what happens during Israel's war against Hamas, continues to investigate what happened and will reach a conclusion.
In addition to publishing the results of the review, the IDF said it “attaches great importance to humanitarian efforts and makes many efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and improve existing mechanisms.”
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The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the ongoing war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in the capture of around 250 hostages, some of whom were freed during a peace deal. temporary ceasefire in November.
Since launching its assault on Gaza following the attack, Israel has banned the entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a small amount of aid entering the south from Egypt through the Rafah crossing and the Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing. . Despite international calls to allow more aid in, the number of supply trucks is far fewer than the 500 that arrived daily before the war.
Fox News' Yonat Friling and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
