Kuwait Roundabout mass killings explained

Kuwait Roundabout mass killings
Location:Kuwait Roundabout, Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Date:3–31 March 2024
Partof:the Israel–Hamas war
Coordinates:31.4798°N 34.4423°W
Type:Massacre, mass shooting
Fatalities:20 civilians
Injuries:155 civilians

In March 2024, during the Israel–Hamas war, civilians seeking humanitarian aid were attacked at the Kuwait Roundabout near Gaza City. According to the Gaza’s health ministry, 20 Gazans were killed and 155 were wounded. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded to the accusations saying they did not open in fire at the convoy, claiming that armed militants fired against the Gazan civilians while waiting for the aid convoy to arrive.

Background

In the aftermath of the 7 October attack by Hamas, Israel declared on 9 October that it would temporarily restrict the entry of food supplies into Gaza. This measure, as stated by the Israeli authorities, aims to mitigate the security risk posed by Hamas, including the prevention of military supplies being covertly brought in under the pretense of humanitarian assistance.[1] [2] Since, aid has been supplied to Gaza in various forms and under strict security. Depite global efforts, people in Gaza are suffering severe food shortages.[3]

According to the Gaza-based Government Media Office, as of 12 March 2024, Israeli attacks on crowds of aid seekers throughout Gaza had killed at least 400 people since the start of the conflict, including in the Flour massacre on 29 February.[4] The assaults were described by the Gaza Ministry of Health as "horrific massacres" by Israeli soldiers opening fire on crowds waiting for humanitarian assistance, while Israel disputes this.[5] By mid-March, Al Jazeera English stated that attacks on aid seekers in northern Gaza were "a near-daily occurrence" and the "new normal".[6] Without assigning blame, the United Nations human rights office has documented more than two dozen attacks as people wait for aid since mid-January 2024.[7]

Timeline

14 March attack

On 14 March 2024, an attack occurred on the Kuwait Roundabout east of Gaza City, killing at least 21 people and injuring 155 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.[22] [23] According to Al Jazeera Israeli tanks fired indiscriminately, with some wounded left bleeding on the streets for hours.[24] Others were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital, though some of the victims did not receive treatment due to a lack of staff and supplies at the hospital.[25] [26] Mohammed Ghurab, the director of emergency services at Al-Shifa, stated people had been hit by "direct shots" from Israeli forces.[27] [28]

Witnesses stated that Israeli tanks and a helicopter fired live ammunition at the aid seekers.[29] Survivors of the attack asked why aid trucks were brought into northern Gaza at all if aid seekers were just going to be shot.[30]

Responsibility

Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal stated Israel was responsible for the attacks. An Al Jazeera correspondent and preliminary investigations conducted by the Euro-Med Monitor concluded that the firing came from an Israeli helicopter.[31] Euro-Med Monitor has also found a video clip of an armed individual released by the Israeli army that appears to be taken at the Dawla Roundabout, roughly two kilometers from the Kuwait Roundabout. Bullets from the dead and wounded in these attacks were 5.56 x 45mm NATO bullets, which were discharged from Israeli army-issued weaponry.[32] [33] [34] The Gaza Media Office stated the attack was part of a "series of massacres and brutal attacks against the defenceless civilians".[35]

The Israeli military said "no tank fire, airstrike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan civilians at the aid convoy."[36] According to the IDF's account of the 14 March attack, militants fired at civilians before the aid convoy's arrival, shot them after the trucks arrived, and then trucks ran over civilians.[37]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Bodkin . Henry . 2023-11-20 . Hamas used food aid sacks to smuggle bullets into Gaza, claims Israel . 2024-04-03 . The Telegraph . en-GB . 0307-1235.
  2. Web site: 2023-10-07 . Israel-Gaza conflict erupts into fighting after attack by Palestinian militants . 2024-04-03 . CNN . en.
  3. News: 2024-03-15 . How much aid is getting into Gaza, and how? . 2024-04-03 . en-GB.
  4. Web site: Abu Azzoum . Tareq . More Palestinian aid seekers killed waiting for food . 14 March 2024 . Al Jazeera.
  5. Web site: ‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in attack on Gaza City . 4 March 2024 . Al Jazeera.
  6. Web site: Mahmoud . Hani . Aid seekers death toll rises to 11 . 15 March 2024 . Al Jazeera.
  7. Web site: Abdulrahim . Raja . March 16, 2024 . U.N. Documents More Than Two Dozen Attacks on Gazans Waiting for Aid Since January . NYTimes.com.
  8. Web site: Israeli forces target truck carrying food aid . Al Jazeera . 4 March 2024.
  9. Web site: Another Israeli attack on aid seekers in Gaza City . Al Jazeera . 6 March 2024.
  10. Web site: Another Israeli attack on aid seekers in Gaza City: Al Jazeera correspondent . Al Jazeera . 9 March 2024.
  11. Web site: Mahmoud . Hani . More aid seekers killed at the same location as ‘flour massacre’ . Al Jazeera . 9 March 2024.
  12. Web site: Israeli forces again target aid seekers in northern Gaza . Al Jazeera . 10 March 2024.
  13. Web site: Abu Azzoum . Tareq . Tribal aid workers targeted in Gaza City, 23 killed . Al Jazeera . 22 March 2024.
  14. Web site: At least 19 reported killed as Israeli forces fire on Gaza aid seekers. Al Jazeera.
  15. Web site: At least 19 Palestinians killed by Israeli military while waiting for aid in Gaza – Gazan authorities. Kareem. Khadder. Khader. Al-Za'anoun. Lauren. Kent. March 23, 2024. CNN.
  16. Web site: Casualties in Israeli attack on Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City . Al Jazeera . 27 March 2024.
  17. Web site: Authorities tell people to avoid aid centres amid Israeli attacks . Al Jazeera . 30 March 2024.
  18. Web site: Palestinians killed waving white fabric – Israeli army shoots two unarmed men dead . Al Jazeera . 2 April 2024.
  19. Web site: Israeli attack on Palestinian aid seekers at Kuwait Roundabout kills 12 . Al Jazeera . 6 April 2024.
  20. Web site: Death toll from Israeli attack on aid seekers rises to 17 . Al Jazeera . 8 April 2024.
  21. Web site: Abu Azzoum . Tareq . Completely chaotic scenes after Israel targets people waiting for aid . Al Jazeera . 7 April 2024.
  22. Web site: At least 20 people killed, dozens wounded in shelling while waiting for food aid, Gaza health ministry says . CNN.
  23. Web site: Dozens of casualties as Israel army opens fire on aid-waiting Palestinians . 15 March 2024 . . en.
  24. Web site: Mahmoud . Hani . Palestinians prevented from recovering bodies at Kuwait Roundabout . Al Jazeera . 17 March 2024.
  25. Web site: 20 dead bodies from Israeli attack on Kuwait Roundabout at al-Shifa Hospital: Ministry . Al Jazeera . 16 March 2024.
  26. Web site: Mahmoud . Hani . Aid seekers targeted by Israel unable to get care at al-Shifa Hospital . Al Jazeera . 17 March 2024.
  27. Web site: Khadder . Kareem . Attack kills 20 and injures 155 at Gaza food aid point, as Israel denies responsibility . Yahoo! News . CNN . 17 March 2024.
  28. Web site: Burke . Jason . Netanyahu approves Rafah attack plans as aid ship reaches Gaza . The Guardian . 17 March 2024.
  29. Web site: Israel pins blame on ‘armed Palestinians’, truck drivers for aid seeker deaths . Al Jazeera . 17 March 2024.
  30. Web site: Mahmoud . Hani . Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City treated as ‘death trap’ . Al Jazeera . 17 March 2024.
  31. Web site: Israel uses helicopter to attack Kuwait Roundabout aid seekers . Al Jazeera . 16 March 2024.
  32. Web site: Euro-Med Monitor refutes Israeli account of ‘flour massacre’ in Gaza . Al Jazeera . 18 March 2024.
  33. Web site: Monitor . Euro-Med Human Rights . Israeli army is attempting to evade responsibility for yet another flour massacre in Gaza . 2024-04-05 . Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor . en-US.
  34. Web site: Motamedi . Maziar . Gaza war: ‘This humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen’ . 2024-04-05 . Al Jazeera . en.
  35. Web site: Israel’s army targeted defenceless Palestinians in Gaza City: Media office . Al Jazeera . 17 March 2024.
  36. Web site: Middle East Crisis: At Least 20 Killed in Attack While Waiting for Aid, Gazan Officials Say. March 15, 2024. NYTimes.com.
  37. Web site: Palestinian gunmen, not Israeli forces, behind Gaza aid convoy deaths, IDF finds. March 15, 2024. YnetNews.com.

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