EU top diplomat urges probe of civilians killed by Israeli fire at Gaza aid station

EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has urged an international investigation into the deaths of civilians trying to access humanitarian food aid in the Gaza Strip on February 29.

“Last Thursday [February 29], 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,” Politico quotes Borrell as saying in a statement published by the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS) on March 2.

“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 March 1, 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.

Following the incident, the US decided on March 1 to airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza. On March 2, US military C-130 cargo planes delivered 66 bundles containing about 38,000 meals into the enclave, according to US officials cited by the Associated Press.

Talks toward a truce in the Gaza Strip are due to resume in Cairo on March 3, Reuters reported on March 2, citing two Egyptian security sources. An Israeli news outlet said Israel would not send a delegation until it got a full list of Israeli hostages still alive, according to the report.

The Associated Press reported that Israel has essentially endorsed a framework of a proposed Gaza cease-fire and hostage-release deal, citing a senior US administration official.

The Israelis “have more or less accepted” the proposal, which includes a six-week cease-fire in Gaza as well as the release by Hamas of hostages considered to be vulnerable, the AP citing the official as saying. It is now up to Hamas to agree to the proposal, according to the report.

US President Joe Biden has said he hopes a cease-fire will be in place by the time of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on March 10.