More than 100 killed in Gaza while trying to get food from aid convoy
Nana Adwoa Antwi-Boasiako
The health ministry in Gaza says 30,000 people there have died in 146 days of war. That grim threshold was crossed after more than 100 died while trying to pull aid from trucks. The U.N. says more than half a million people are “one step away” from famine. Nick Schifrin reports. A warning, images in this story are disturbing.
Read the Full Transcript
Amna Nawaz: Thirty thousand, that’s the number of Gazans the Hamas-led Health Ministry there says have died in just 146 days of war. That grim threshold was crossed after one of the deadliest single incidents of the war, more than 100 people reportedly killed trying desperately to pull aid from trucks.
Geoff Bennett: The need is dire and hunger acute. The U.N. says more than half-a-million people in Gaza — that’s one out of every four — are — quote — “one step away from famine.”
The White House today called the deaths in Northern Gaza tragic and alarming. And President Biden says it could complicate negotiations to pause the war and release Israeli hostages.
Nick Schifrin starts our coverage.
And a warning: The following report includes images that are disturbing.
Nick Schifrin: They went to retrieve aid. They returned instead with the dead and the food they desperately wanted for their families now covered in their blood.
It happened at 4:00 a.m., as Egyptian aid trucks arrived in Gaza City.
(Gunshots)
Nick Schifrin: The sound of gunfire on this footage aired by Al-Jazeera as Gazans who’d come to gather aid began to flee.
And, afterward, residents walk away with bags of food surrounded by the injured. Israel released this footage of crowds that surrounded the aid and what it called tanks securing the convoy. That’s when Gazans began fighting for food, said Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Spokesperson, Israeli Defense Forces: The tanks that were there to secure the convoy seized the Gazans being trampled and cautiously tries to disperse the mob with a few warning shots. When the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand, the tank commander decided to retreat. No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy.
Nick Schifrin: But at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, where the injured were rushed in, eyewitnesses blamed Israel.
Man (through interpreter): We were surprised by Israeli tanks that came out and opened fire on people randomly and directly. This is my brother, who went to bring food for his children. If aid is to come to us in this way, we do not want it. We do not want to live on the blood of our children.
Nick Schifrin: But the aid is desperately needed. The U.N. says, in Northern Gaza, one in six children under the age of 2 are acutely malnourished. Some don’t make it.
Doctors in Beit Lahia said this baby died of hunger and dehydration, a helpless mother left to grieve. To a man with an empty stomach, food is God. And for the Al-Awadeya family in Central Gaza, salvation comes from a plant that, like them, can survive the harshest conditions, a thorny, prickly cactus.
Marwan Al-Awadeya, Displaced Palestinian (through interpreter): Today, we are living in famine. We have exhausted everything. There is nothing left to eat. We eat cactus, even with its thorns.
Nick Schifrin: In Southern Gaza, volunteers from the international humanitarian organization MedGlobal document children’s nutrition rates. A UNICEF ruler shows an alarming truth. The U.N. says famine in Gaza is looming.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul, President, MedGlobal: Hunger is a major issue right now. And the severe malnutrition among children is alarming.
Nick Schifrin: Dr. Zaher Sahloul is MedGlobal’s president and co-founder. He volunteered in several clinics and hospitals in Southern Gaza last month.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul: When we were there, there were no food, no chicken, no eggs, no milk, no fruits and vegetables. Food were very expensive. So average adult eats less than one meal a
Nana Adwoa Antwi-Boasiako
The health ministry in Gaza says 30,000 people there have died in 146 days of war. That grim threshold was crossed after more than 100 died while trying to pull aid from trucks. The U.N. says more than half a million people are “one step away” from famine. Nick Schifrin reports. A warning, images in this story are disturbing.
Read the Full Transcript
Amna Nawaz: Thirty thousand, that’s the number of Gazans the Hamas-led Health Ministry there says have died in just 146 days of war. That grim threshold was crossed after one of the deadliest single incidents of the war, more than 100 people reportedly killed trying desperately to pull aid from trucks.
Geoff Bennett: The need is dire and hunger acute. The U.N. says more than half-a-million people in Gaza — that’s one out of every four — are — quote — “one step away from famine.”
The White House today called the deaths in Northern Gaza tragic and alarming. And President Biden says it could complicate negotiations to pause the war and release Israeli hostages.
Nick Schifrin starts our coverage.
And a warning: The following report includes images that are disturbing.
Nick Schifrin: They went to retrieve aid. They returned instead with the dead and the food they desperately wanted for their families now covered in their blood.
It happened at 4:00 a.m., as Egyptian aid trucks arrived in Gaza City.
(Gunshots)
Nick Schifrin: The sound of gunfire on this footage aired by Al-Jazeera as Gazans who’d come to gather aid began to flee.
And, afterward, residents walk away with bags of food surrounded by the injured. Israel released this footage of crowds that surrounded the aid and what it called tanks securing the convoy. That’s when Gazans began fighting for food, said Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Spokesperson, Israeli Defense Forces: The tanks that were there to secure the convoy seized the Gazans being trampled and cautiously tries to disperse the mob with a few warning shots. When the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand, the tank commander decided to retreat. No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy.
Nick Schifrin: But at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, where the injured were rushed in, eyewitnesses blamed Israel.
Man (through interpreter): We were surprised by Israeli tanks that came out and opened fire on people randomly and directly. This is my brother, who went to bring food for his children. If aid is to come to us in this way, we do not want it. We do not want to live on the blood of our children.
Nick Schifrin: But the aid is desperately needed. The U.N. says, in Northern Gaza, one in six children under the age of 2 are acutely malnourished. Some don’t make it.
Doctors in Beit Lahia said this baby died of hunger and dehydration, a helpless mother left to grieve. To a man with an empty stomach, food is God. And for the Al-Awadeya family in Central Gaza, salvation comes from a plant that, like them, can survive the harshest conditions, a thorny, prickly cactus.
Marwan Al-Awadeya, Displaced Palestinian (through interpreter): Today, we are living in famine. We have exhausted everything. There is nothing left to eat. We eat cactus, even with its thorns.
Nick Schifrin: In Southern Gaza, volunteers from the international humanitarian organization MedGlobal document children’s nutrition rates. A UNICEF ruler shows an alarming truth. The U.N. says famine in Gaza is looming.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul, President, MedGlobal: Hunger is a major issue right now. And the severe malnutrition among children is alarming.
Nick Schifrin: Dr. Zaher Sahloul is MedGlobal’s president and co-founder. He volunteered in several clinics and hospitals in Southern Gaza last month.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul: When we were there, there were no food, no chicken, no eggs, no milk, no fruits and vegetables. Food were very expensive. So average adult eats less than one meal a
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Summary
146 days of war in Gaza resulted in the death of more than 30,000 people, with over 100 killed recently while trying to retrieve aid. The U.N. warns that half a million Gazans are at risk of famine. This incident occurred when aid trucks arrived and were surrounded by crowds, leading to gunfire and