Sun. Dec 22nd, 2024

NNA – Reactions to the massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces in thenbsp;al-Rashid Streetnbsp;west of Gaza City have poured in from around the world.nbsp;

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip condemned the Israeli massacre, sayingnbsp;112 people were martyrednbsp;and more than 750 wounded.

A field source from the Palestinian Resistance said that Israeli armored vehicles and tanks ran over the bodies of several martyrs, while others fired incendiary shells toward civilians in the area.

The occupation forces also arbitrarily detained hundreds of civilians in the same area, transferring them to an unknown location, the source mentioned.

The Israeli occupation military claimed that a quot;stampedequot; occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks. An Israeli source saidnbsp;troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it quot;posed a threat.quot;

Washington will be #39;pressing for answers#39;

Though his country continues to veto a call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, US President Joe Biden said the incident would complicate delicate ceasefire negotiations in the almost five-month-old war, with the White House calling the deaths quot;tremendously alarmingquot;.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters the United States was quot;urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place,quot; failing to blame the Israeli occupation forces for the massacre.

Washington will be monitoring an upcoming investigation closely and quot;pressing for answers,quot; he said.

Israeli soldiers firing at civilians is #39;unjustifiable#39;: France

The French Foreign Ministry said that quot;the fire by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access food is unjustifiable.quot;

The quot;tragic eventquot; came as an quot;increasing and unbearable number of Palestinian civiliansquot; were suffering from hunger and disease, it added, stressing that quot;Israelquot; must abide by international law and protect aid deliveries to civilians.

Writing on X that Palestinian quot;civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers,quot; French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his quot;strongest condemnationquot; of the killings.

#39;Israel#39; commits #39;another crime against humanity#39;: Turkey

Turkey accused quot;Israelquot; of committing quot;another crime against humanity,quot; with the Turkish Foreign Ministry saying that quot;the fact that Israel… this time targets innocent civilians in a queue for humanitarian aid, is evidence that (Israel) aims consciously and collectively to destroy the Palestinian people.quot;

Colombia suspends purchases of weapons from #39;Israel#39;

Colombia#39;s President Gustavo Petro denounced a quot;genocidequot; of the Palestinian people andnbsp;suspended purchases of weaponsnbsp;from the Israeli occupation entity.

quot;Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Netanyahu. This is called genocide and recalls the Holocaust,quot; Petro wrote on X.

quot;The world must block Netanyahu.quot;

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares wrote on X that quot;the unacceptable nature of what happened in Gaza, with dozens of Palestinian civilians dead as they were waiting for food, underlines the urgency of a ceasefire.quot;nbsp;

Similarly,nbsp;Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for an quot;immediate ceasefirequot; in Gaza and urged quot;Israelquot; to protect the Palestinian population after the quot;tragic deathsquot;.

quot;We strongly urge Israel to protect the people in Gaza and to rigorously ascertain facts and responsibilities,quot; he said on X.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her quot;deep dismay and concern.quot;

Guterres #39;appalled by the tragic human toll#39;

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident and was quot;appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict,quot; his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

quot;The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged north where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week,quot; Dujarric said.

#39;Totally unacceptable#39;: Borrell

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell denounced the deaths as quot;totally unacceptablequot;.

quot;I am horrified by news of yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid,quot; he said on X.

Qatar#39;s Foreign Ministry condemned quot;in the strongest terms the heinous massacre committed by the Israeli occupation.quot; calling for quot;urgent international actionquot; to halt the war in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia#39;s Foreign Ministry condemned the deaths and reiterated quot;the need to reach an immediate ceasefirequot;. It also renewed its quot;demands to the international community to take a firm position to oblige Israel to respect international humanitarian law, immediately open safe humanitarian corridors, allow the evacuation of the injured, and enable the delivery of relief aidquot;.–agencies

nbsp;

nbsp;

========R.H.

By