Many of the 100 Palestinians killed or wounded when they crowded around a Gaza aid convoy in desperate bid to get flour were hit by Israeli army fire, the EU has said.
At least 112 Palestinians were believed to have been killed and 760 injured when soldiers opened fire after feeling threatened by the crowds.
The situation in Gaza has been continuously deteriorating since war broke out between Israel and Hamas more than five months ago, with many citizens forced to searching through piles of rubble and garbage for food.
An Israeli government spokesperson initially said that the deaths were caused by the delivery drivers ploughing into the surging crowd, but Hamas rejected this account, saying there was ‘undeniable’ evidence of ‘direct firing at citizens’.
The European External Action Service said responsibility for the crisis lay with ‘restrictions imposed by the Israeli army and obstructions by violent extremist(s) to the supply of humanitarian aid.’