Following conversations with the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) and a Palestinian eyewitness, we’ve been in a position to set up – with some confidence – the circumstances surrounding the incident on Thursday morning during which as many as 104 Palestinians have been killed.
Everybody agrees that the incident passed off shortly after 04:00 native time (02:00 GMT) on the Gaza coast highway. It occurred simply previous an Israeli army checkpoint.
Palestinian sources put the situation of the incident because the Nabulsi roundabout, on the south-western fringe of Gaza Metropolis.
A convoy of help vehicles (supplier nonetheless not recognized) handed by way of the checkpoint, heading north. There’s some disagreement about what number of vehicles have been concerned. The IDF says 30; our eyewitness says 18. Both means, the convoy was probably just a few hundred metres lengthy.
Shortly after the convoy handed by way of the checkpoint, with the final truck solely about 70 metres (230ft) north of the checkpoint, Palestinians began surrounding the vehicles.
IDF spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner says some civilians approached the checkpoint and ignored warning pictures fired by the troopers there.
Fearing that a number of the civilians posed a menace, the troopers then opened fireplace on these approaching in what Lerner described as a “restricted response”.
Our Palestinian supply has not confirmed that civilians approached the checkpoint, solely that they have been about 70 metres away.
With crowds descending on all of the vehicles, and with machine gun fireplace coming from the checkpoint, panic appears to have ensued.
The vehicles (a few of them now with many individuals clinging on) tried to maneuver ahead. Our eyewitness says that the majority of the casualties have been attributable to the vehicles working folks over, not by the Israeli gunfire.