BRUSSELS, Saturday, March 2, 2024 (WAFA) – The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called today for an international probe into the Israeli army's killing and injury of dozens of Palestinian civilians waiting for desperately needed aid in Gaza City on Thursday morning.
“Last Thursday, over a hundred civilians were killed and many others wounded when desperately trying to get food from a convoy, many of them victims of the Israeli army fire during the ensuing stampede,” Borrell said in a statement published by the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS).
“The firing by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access foodstuff is unjustifiable,” he said.
While calling for an impartial international investigation on the case, Borrell stressed that “the responsibility for this incident lays on the restrictions imposed by the Israeli army and obstructions by violent extremists to the supply of humanitarian aid.”
On Friday, several EU leaders condemned the killing of 115 Palestinians who were trying to get food off delivery trucks in Gaza City.
European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for an international investigation without explicitly accusing Israel of being responsible. Like Borrell, French President Emmanuel Macron blamed the Israeli army for the incident.
M.N