Summary

  • The US says it's urgently seeking information on an incident in which dozens of Palestinians were killed as they converged on a food aid convoy

  • President Biden says the incident underscored the need to secure a ceasefire deal

  • The Hamas-run health ministry says 112 Palestinians were killed in the incident, and blamed Israeli forces

  • An Israeli military source said that Israeli troops did open fire as some in the crowd moved towards them in a way that was "endangering the troops"

  • One eyewitness told the BBC that the bulk of the casualties were caused by the trucks running people over, not by the Israeli gunfire

  • An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said Israeli soldiers opened fire on some civilians approaching a checkpoint in a "limited response"

  • Graphic videos posted on social media show the dead in Gaza City loaded onto emptied aid lorries and a donkey cart

Live Reporting

Edited by Nathan Williams and Nadia Ragozhina

  1. Israel says it appears 'tragedy' caused by 'delivery trucks hitting surging crowd'

    An Israeli government spokesperson described the situation as a "tragedy" and said initial indications were that the deaths were caused by delivery drivers "ploughing into a surging crowd" of people waiting for aid to be distributed near Gaza City.

    "At some point the trucks were overwhelmed and the people driving the trucks, which were Gazan civilian drivers, ploughed into the crowds of people, ultimately killing, my understanding is, tens of people," spokesperson Avi Hyman told reporters.

    "It's obviously a tragedy but we're not sure of the specifics quite yet," he added.

    The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry is blaming Israeli forces for the deaths, while an Israeli military source also said that they opened fire "at several people" as they thought Israeli soldiers were “endangered”.

  2. Incident under review - Israel's military

    Let's bring you a few more lines.

    We are also hearing that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said dozens were killed being trampled and run over by trucks.

    Palestinian media have cited medical sources saying Israeli troops fired at the crowd in northern Gaza. As we mentioned in the previous post, an Israeli military source says troops opened fire as they believed soldiers were "endangered".

    A journalist in Gaza City told the BBC people had come to get supplies.

    Graphic videos posted on social media show the dead in Gaza City loaded onto emptied aid lorries and a donkey cart.

  3. More than 100 reported killed as crowd waits for Gaza aid

    We are hearing that more than 100 people have been reportedly killed in Gaza as a crowd waited to receive humanitarian aid.

    The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza have blamed Israeli forces.

    An Israeli military source said troops opened fire as some in the crowd moved towards them in a way that was "endangering the troops".

    Stay with us as we bring you all the latest on this story.