Israeli Forces Fire on Crowds Surrounding Gaza Aid Trucks

Israeli troops opened fire on crowds of Palestinians gathered around aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military and Gaza health officials said, causing mass casualties and threatening to upend delicate negotiations to reach a cease-fire soon.

Several eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers and tanks fired at people gathered to wait for aid deliveries near the Nabulsi roundabout in northern Gaza, with some saying the shooting started before trucks arrived.

The Israeli military said crowds surrounded trucks carrying aid, resulting in Palestinians trampling each other and being run over by the trucks. An Israeli military official said soldiers had responded with live fire to what it called a threat from the crowd, and that the incident was under review.

The Palestinian health ministry said more than 100 people were killed and more than 700 injured in the incident. The Israeli military said dozens were killed, blaming trampling and crowding.

The incident came as the death toll in Gaza surpassed 30,000 people killed since Israel launched its war against Hamas, amid international pressure on Israel to abort plans to attack Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering.

The total death toll from the war—equivalent to about 1.3% of Gaza’s entire population—includes more than 12,500 children and over 8,500 women, around two-thirds of the total, according to Palestinian health authorities whose figures don’t distinguish between civilians and militants. Nearly 75,000 people have been injured.

About two million people have been displaced by the fighting, half of them crammed into Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city near the Egyptian border, where Israel has said it would launch a fresh offensive if a cease-fire deal isn’t reached before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, set to begin around March 10.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities, the majority civilians, began in northern Gaza, before expanding south, where the Israeli military says it is continuing operations against the last remaining Hamas strongholds.

In recent weeks, the Israeli military has resumed bombings in the north after a resurgence of Hamas fighters there, saying Thursday that its forces had recently killed several Palestinian militants in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City in addition to destroying tunnel shafts and confiscating weapons. The Israeli military has also continued airstrikes and other operations in the southern city of Khan Younis, where most of its forces are concentrated.

The actual death toll is likely higher than 30,000, according to United Nations officials and medical workers. Retrieving dead bodies has become harder and more dangerous as the war has progressed, making it increasingly difficult to estimate how many could still be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Nearly 8,000 Gazans are reported missing.

“There will be a lot of deaths that are missed, it’s a big undercount,” said a Western U.N. official. On top of that, preventable deaths are likely to rise due to the virtual collapse of the healthcare system—deaths that aren’t included in the war toll.

Palestinian health authorities typically report deaths based on data compiled by hospitals. But with just 13 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals only partially functioning, fewer deaths are being registered through them than in the earlier months of the war.

Israeli officials privately say the Palestinian death toll is roughly accurate but dispute the composition, saying over one-third of those killed were Hamas fighters. The U.S. intelligence community earlier said it is relatively confident that reports on the death toll from health authorities in Gaza are roughly accurate.

Israeli Forces Fire on Crowds Surrounding Gaza Aid Trucks

U.S. and Arab negotiators are pushing Israel and Hamas to agree by next week to a deal that would ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by allowing in more aid deliveries, pause fighting, and release hostages. Of the more than 200 hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack, 130 remain in captivity, including 31 dead bodies, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.

Mediators this week continued intensive talks with Hamas and Israel to close the gaps over a deal involving a truce of at least 40 days and the exchange of roughly 40 hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and 500 trucks of aid daily.

One of the main sticking points is a disagreement between Israel and Hamas over the ratio of Palestinian prisoners who would be released in return for hostages. Previously during the war, Israel has released three Palestinian prisoners for every female or child hostage. According to a document viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Israel is willing to exchange 404 Palestinians for 40 hostages, including 90 Palestinian prisoners, among them some convicted of serious terrorism charges, for five female Israeli soldiers.

In the past, Israel has exchanged larger numbers of prisoners for its military personnel. When abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in 2011 after more than five years in captivity, he was exchanged for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including some who had been convicted of carrying out attacks on Israeli civilians.

Another stumbling block is the limited and gradual return of Palestinians to their homes in the north of Gaza during any potential truce. Israelis have said they would be willing to allow women and children to return, but the majority of male Palestinians would be held back, Egyptian officials said.

Anat Peled, Margherita Stancati, Summer Said and Fatima AbdulKarim contributed to this article.

Write to Sune Engel Rasmussen at [email protected]