Francesca Albanese
Francesca AlbaneseReuters/Lev Radin/Sipa USA

Seven United Nations officials today (Tuesday) published a joint letter condemning Israel for the trampling incident that occurred when a humanitarian aid convoy was swarmed in northern Gaza last week and blamed Israel for all of the fatalities during the incident.

Last Thursday morning, Gazan residents gathered around the three trucks after they entered Gaza, acting violently and looting the supplies. In the resulting chaos, over a hundred people were killed and hundreds more injured, according to Palestinian sources.

The officials called the incident a "massacre," echoing Hamas propaganda, and accused Israel without evidence of "targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys."

"Israeli troops fired on crowds of Palestinians gathered to collect flour in the south-west of Gaza City on 29 February, killing at least 112 people and injuring some 760," they claimed.

The IDF investigation into the incident found that while troops did fire at some Gazans who approached and threatened them, only ten people were struck by IDF fire. The majority of the casualties were the result of people being trampled during the crush or by being struck by the aid trucks as they attempted to escape from the mob.

The officials further claimed that "Israel has also opened fire on humanitarian aid convoys on several occasions, despite the fact that the convoys shared their coordinates with Israel.”

The officials called for a "permanent ceasefire" and "for an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel, as part of all States’ duty to ensure respect for human rights and stop violations of international humanitarian law by Israel."

The document did not mention the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza or call for their release. The only mention of Hamas was during a mention of negotiations between Israel and the terrorist organization, October 7 was also not mentioned, nor was the report published by the UN yesterday documenting the mass rape committed by Hamas terrorists that day and against the hostages.

The document was signed by Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Dominique Day and Bina D’Costa, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.