IDF massacres Gazans clamouring for basic necessities

WILL IRVINE (HE/HIM)

On February 29, Israeli tanks escorted a delivery of aid trucks to the seaside Al-Rashid street in north Gaza, a city that has been almost completely gutted by Israel’s intense and unrelenting bombardment. Thousands of hungry Palestinians gathered to get basic necessities, most notably flour, in a territory that has experienced the fastest period of starvation in recent human history. They were hungry, tired, and angry. The civilians clamoured around the trucks, searching for a few day’s more survival for their families. In response, the Israeli troops fired shots above the crowd. 

Just minutes later, they opened fire en masse, gunning down hundreds of hungry civilians, injuring more than 700 people and killing ~120. As people fled, the Israeli military identified them as combatants, leading to further bloodshed. Witnesses reported shells falling from warplanes and the use of combat drones to attack civilians. The shooting, referred to in the press as the “Flour Massacre”, forms part of a wider pattern of Israeli attacks on those seeking humanitarian aid. By utilising terror, Israeli forces have been systematically preventing Palestinians from accessing food and medical supplies, which are in desperate need in the besieged Gaza Strip. 

In response, the IDF released drone footage of Palestinians gathering around the trucks, claiming that this illustrated looting and rioting on the part of the victims. The frequently pro-Israel New York Times described the footage as “heavily edited to induce blame”, and the BBC notes that the video was stitched together from four separate videos. The IDF has not responded to requests to release unedited footage of the event. 

As the UN Security Council rushed to condemn the incident, the USA vetoed any such action from taking place. For the New Zealand government, the question still remains—how long are we prepared to sit by idly as our allies assist in genocide?