Israel-Hamas war: IDF denies attacking humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza City | LiveNOW from FOX

Summary

IDF Lt. Col. Lerner discusses a deadly incident where a humanitarian aid convoy entered Northern Gaza and was stormed by masses of Gazans in dire need. As hundreds looted supplies, chaos ensued and people were trampled and killed. The IDF fired warning shots but denies firing on the convoy itself. Lerner refutes exaggerated Hamas claims of over 100 killed by Israel, calling it a crowd crush tragedy unrelated to IDF actions. He says Israel aims to dismantle Hamas, return hostages from Gaza, and create improved security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Takeaways

• 😟 Conflicting accounts of deadly incident in Northern Gaza involving aid convoy and civilian deaths
• 😠 IDF spokesperson denies IDF forces fired indiscriminately at civilians
• 👀 Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry casualty figures questioned
• 😥 Dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza acknowledged as context
• 😱 Description of chaotic scene with civilians storming aid trucks
• 💀 Dozens reported killed in crush as trucks advanced and people fell
• 🔫 IDF says warning shots fired for crowd control, then forces withdrew
• 🤔 Ongoing investigation whether Hamas involved
• 😥 IDF expresses regret at tragic loss of civilian life
• ⚖️ IDF says adherence to international law and proportionality in operations

Q & A

What time did the aid convoy enter Northern Gaza?

The convoy entered Northern Gaza around 4:00 AM.

Who accompanied the aid convoy?

Some IDF forces accompanied the convoy in order to secure it.

Why did the IDF fire warning shots?

The IDF fired warning shots to try to disperse the large crowd that was approaching the tanks, as they were concerned about Hamas terrorists among the crowd.

What caused the casualties among Palestinians?

Many Palestinians were killed and injured after being run over by the trucks as they stormed and looted the aid supplies.

Did IDF soldiers open fire on the convoy or Palestinians?

No, the IDF did not open fire on the convoy or Palestinians. They only fired warning shots in the air.

What are the IDF's main goals in this war?

The IDF's goals are: 1) Return all hostages held by Hamas 2) Dismantle and destroy Hamas 3) Improve security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Where are many of the hostages likely being held?

Many hostages are likely being held in underground Hamas tunnels.

Is Hamas still active and posing a threat in Gaza?

Yes, Hamas still has active terrorists conducting guerilla warfare in Gaza, which is why Israel believes it must continue military operations.

Will there be an IDF operation in Rafah before Ramadan?

It's likely there will be an IDF operation in Rafah to destroy Hamas operations and possibly rescue hostages before Ramadan begins.

Will there be an IDF review of the Northern Gaza incident?

Yes, the IDF will conduct an internal review to understand what happened and prevent similar tragic incidents when supplying humanitarian aid.

Outlines

00:00

😕 Palestinian Deaths in Northern Gaza Aid Delivery

Paragraph 1 discusses a convoy entering Northern Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. As residents swarmed the trucks to take supplies, dozens were killed and injured in a resulting crush. The IDF says it fired warning shots to disperse the crowd but denies firing at people. The high death toll is disputed, with skepticism towards figures from Hamas' Health Ministry.

05:00

👮‍♂️ IDF Account of Gaza Aid Convoy Tragedy

Paragraph 2 presents the IDF's account of the incident. They state they fired warning shots in the air when crowds approached tanks but did not fire at the convoy. They characterize it as a tragedy caused by masses storming trucks, not an IDF attack. Casualties were due to being run over and trampled in the chaos.

10:02

⚔️ IDF Goals and Prospect of Imminent Rafa Operation

Paragraph 3 discusses the IDF's goals to return hostages, destroy Hamas, and improve security. The IDF says operations will continue in Rafah where hostages are likely held. They will act based on necessity, precaution and proportionality per international law. An internal review of today's incident will be conducted.

Keywords

💡Gaza

Gaza refers to the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory located between Israel and Egypt. It is controlled by the militant group Hamas. The video discusses a humanitarian aid convoy that entered Northern Gaza to provide supplies to Palestinian civilians there. However, the convoy was stormed by crowds who looted the supplies. This led to dozens of Gazans being killed and injured in a crush as they scrambled for aid.

💡humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid refers to material and logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises. In this video, an aid convoy entered Northern Gaza to deliver desperately-needed supplies like food and medicine to Palestinian civilians living in dire conditions there.

💡IDF

IDF stands for Israel Defense Forces, the military forces of the state of Israel. IDF forces accompanied and secured the humanitarian aid convoy into Northern Gaza. When crowds looted the trucks, IDF soldiers fired warning shots to try and disperse the crowds before retreating.

💡Hamas

Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organization that has governed Gaza since 2007. The IDF views Hamas as a terrorist group and enemy. There are concerns Hamas fighters might have been part of the crowd looting supplies, posing a security threat.

💡civilians

Civilians refers to the Palestinian non-combatant population living under Hamas rule in Gaza. The aid convoy was intended to provide humanitarian relief to Gaza's civilians, who are in dire need. However, civilian desperation tragically contributed to the chaotic crush.

💡convoy

Convoy refers to the vehicles transporting humanitarian supplies into Gaza, escorted by IDF forces. The aid convoy itself was stormed and looted by crowds as soon as it entered Northern Gaza, triggering the deadly crush incident.

💡crush

Crush refers to the crowd crush or stampede that occurred when Gazans stormed the aid convoy trucks. In the chaos of so many people scrambling to loot supplies, individuals were trampled and crushed underfoot or ran over by the trucks.

💡Rafah

Rafah is a city in Southern Gaza on the border with Egypt. The IDF believes many hostage civilians are being held captive in Rafah by Hamas. The IDF plans to launch an imminent operation in Rafah to rescue hostages and eliminate Hamas.

💡hostages

Hostages refers to Israeli civilian captives being held by Hamas. Securing the release of hostages is a top priority for the IDF. Negotiations are ongoing, but the IDF may also conduct military operations in Rafah to free hostages.

💡terrorists

Terrorists refers to Hamas militant fighters, who engage in terrorist activities against Israel. Even after IDF operations targeting Hamas battalions, some terrorists continue to operate in Gaza and pose security threats.

Highlights

IDF conducted a humanitarian convoy to bring supplies to Northern Gaza

IDF fired warning shots to disperse the crowd surrounding the trucks

IDF does not trust casualty numbers from Hamas' Ministry of Health

IDF retreated and convoy continued after initial warning shots

IDF says casualties were caused by trucks running over people

IDF fired additional warning shots due to suspected Hamas militants in crowd

IDF then retreated from the area entirely

IDF core goals - return hostages, dismantle Hamas, improve security

IDF will investigate if Hamas was involved in the incident

IDF says hundreds of civilians stormed trucks causing chaos

IDF may still conduct operations in Rafah before Ramadan

IDF aims to allow aid convoys to reach people safely

IDF will review incident to prevent reoccurrence

IDF wants to ensure supplies reach those in need

IDF remains threat from Hamas militants in civilian clothes

Transcripts

there as well. in

Jerusalem. All right, Well

earlier today I spoke with

an official. uh at the IDF

talking about these now

competing narratives. of

what exactly happened in

Northern Gaza. what exactly

happened when it came to

this? crowd Crush at this

humanitarian? Aid Convoy, uh

the Gaza run Health

Ministry there. uh said

Israeli forces opened fire.

indiscriminately. on these

Palestinian civilians.

innocent ones at that who

just were clamoring for

more aid, but the IDF

strongly refutes that line

strongly strongly that

account. Here's our

interview. and here on

live now from Fox we

always give you the latest

developments and updates in

the Israel Hamas War. and

including 1. today

especially I want to show

some of this video put out

by the IDF today, So

according to Reuters Gaza

Health authorities said

that Israeli forces today.

shot dead more than 100

Palestinians as they

waited for an aid delivery

Israel, though. challenging

the death toll and said

many of the victims were

run over. by a trucks now

the IDF on Twitter put this

out today they said this

that this morning

humanitarian Aid trucks

entered Northern Gaza.

residents surrounded the

trucks and looted the

supplies being delivered.

as a result of the pushing

trampoline and being run

over by the trucks. dozens

of gazans. were killed. and

injured joining us now to

discuss this even further.

is IDF lieutenant Colonel

Peter Lerner, and he joins

me from Israel. uh

lieutenant Colonel Lerner.

Thanks so much for being

with us here, I guess my

first question to You is.

you know this happened in

Northern Gaza. Uh, right

on the outskirts of Gaza

City. We're IDF forces.

shooting. indiscriminately.

at this crowd of

Palestinians trying to get

Aid humanitarian Aid that

they so desperately need

is that what was

happening? Absolutely not.

the IDF conducted. a

humanitarian Convoy in

order to bring the

much-needed. Uh Goods

the humanitarian. supplies

the food the medicine. from

the south into the north.

It was a coordinated effort

and indeed some of our

forces indeed accompanied

in order to secure. that

Convoy unfortunately as you

opened up and you quoted

the Ministry of Health in

Gaza, that's the Hamas

Ministry of Health They

are citing these numbers.

we wouldn't trust the

al-Qaeda. Ministry of Health

We wouldn't trust the Isis

Ministry of Health. why we

trusting anything the Hamas

Ministry of Health says,

so of course the operation

as we started in the early

hours of this morning, um,

before at around 4:00 a.m.

Um, the Convoy was able to

go into Northern Gaza. um

as it proceeded it indeed

as we saw in the footage.

the masses of people. that

stormed the trucks in

order to loot the goods.

in order to take whatever

they could get. Um it

does absolutely exemplify.

precisely the dire

conditions that people are

in despair there, but as

we saw this happening we

did fire some warning shots

in order to try and

disperse. the crowd. um, but

as that didn't happen

that didn't work we

retreated we took our

forces our tanks back

out of the area. and

regrouped out of the area

further south out of the um

out of the area of the

Convoy, Uh, this is a

tragedy uh, but it

absolutely has nothing to

do with the IDF. Okay

lieutenant Colonel. I just

have a question, too.

I mean did IDF forces on

the scene? you know believe

that any of these

individuals these

Palestinians were you know

Hamas combatants? so

to speak? uh, and if so,

what are the rules of

engagement if that is

operative if that is at

play here. So this is

precisely when we fired

those warning shots, it was

precisely because there was a

lot of people approaching

the forces approaching the

tanks we know Hamas

terrorists. They don't wear

uniforms like regular

military like decent.

militaries. They are

operating in civilian

clothes They get close to

our tanks and they try and

plant booby traps explosive

devices. on our armored

vehicles. So, of course

there is a constant threat

to 360 degree threats in

operating in the urban area

and this indeed is a

concern and this is

precisely why we opened

fire with warning shots and

limited. controlled firing.

Um, and then retreated and

then we left that area

and the Convoy continued

forward. uh ramming and and

running over some of the

some Palestinians that

caused tens of people to

be killed. injured wounded.

Uh, this is the reality

of this morning. so, um,

I just want to get this

straight here and clarify.

uh on the IDF side. They

fired warning shots in the

air to disperse the crowd

the IDF is characterizing

the somewhat as a crowd

crush and people were

trampled did IDF soldiers?

at all? you know fire at

some of these individuals

who were storming this Aid

Convoy No, we do not fire

at the Convoy We did not

attack the Convoy

No, absolutely not. we fired

a the air to uh in order

to disperse the masses and

then towards some people

that were approaching the

tank and and then we moved

out. That was a very very

close. concerning

incident and the tragedy.

but the mass events the

mass. Um, uh, reality of um

casualties that that Hamas

are reporting about uh, they

have nothing to do with

Israel if they even

have it, okay. Also,

you know the White House

said today that President

Biden he discussed. Uh,

what the White House is

calling this tragic and

alarming incident with the

leaders of both Egypt. and

Qatar as well as ways to

secure the release of

these. uh hostages still

being held by Hamas more

than 100 of them. Um,

you know, earlier this week

President Biden had said we

could possibly see a deal

uh this next Monday. Uh,

and so he was somewhat

backtracking on that

timetable today in other

comments. as well does

something like this? that

happened in Gaza City

today? Does that

jeopardize a deal going

forward? are are you worried

or are many members of the

IDF or the Israeli

government? worried that

something like this? could

Scuttle a deal? the IDF has 3

core goals in this war.

to bring back the

134 hostages. Imagine their

families have been Torn

to Pieces over the last

Almost 5 months now. um

to bring them back home

every last 1 of them. 2

Dismantle and Destroy Hamas

as a governing Authority.

as a terrorist entity an

entity that built a

terrorist Army that came

into our kitchens and

butchered our babies in

their bedrooms. and to create

a new security regime as

security. conditions, that

will be improved for both

Israelis and I would add.

also for Palestinians. so

we need to do everything

we can in order to create

the conditions to bring

home hostages and indeed.

those include negotiations.

but also include the option

of operational activity.

like we did 2 weeks ago

with our special forces and

releasing. um 2 hostages.

Um, we hope that this

will not impede on that

on the negotiations, but we

will push forward. in

order to achieve our goals

and bring home the hostages

once and for all they need

to be brought home. Um, the

the way and how and how long

Hamas have helped them now

for 146 days is

unacceptable in conditions

that we can only be dis

that can only be

described. as hell on

Earth or probably hell

beneath Earth because they're

most likely in the

tunnels. Yeah. You were

just taking a live look

there uh in Jerusalem as

well. I just want to go

back to this early tragic

event that happened today

if you could offer more

details uh as well because

there have reports uh, and

it is true that um,

skepticism. should be at

play when anything. that

the Gaza Health Ministry

puts out there as far as

figures when it comes to

those. deceased they did

so very quickly, but there

have been uh reports

throughout this war. of

Hamas kind of commandeering

some of the humanitarian.

Aid Is that what happened

today? Uh were there any

Hamas combatants in this?

Crush of people that was

trying to steal the aid

from innocent Palestinian

civilians. Do we know any

of that? Um the

investigation is ongoing I

can't indicate or I have

no indications at

this time. that Hamas were

involved. Um, but it it may

appear in late

a little later date. What

we know is that there

were a huge amount of

people as you saw on the

images that we

distributed. several

hundreds of people. who are

the truckloads. um going

north Um, basically taking

everything they could grab

and this created the state

of complete chaos. and

from our understanding the

reality. in this scenario

was um, you know, the the

Deep tragedy that people

have been were just run

over. Um, the trucks move

forward the trucks, Advanced

and people were just left.

uh behind lying on the

ground. and this is the the

very sad truth of the

event. Um, if Hamas has

been is was involved I

can't say at this time. Of

course, it's always

possible we've seen. in the

northern Gaza Strip even

after we've um dismantled

and destroyed most of

almost all of uh Hamas

battalions. There are still

terrorists. operating in a

um, Guerilla type Guerilla

Warfare type action, so

it's individual terrorists

that are conducting. uh

their activities. and yes,

it poses a threat and Hamas

is still present in Gaza,

and this is precisely the

reason why we need to

continue our operations, in

order to dismantle and

Destroy Hamas once and

for all yeah, you know

something just lastly that

we've been talking here

live now from Fox now a lot

with experts and uh

officials like yourself is

whether or not this

imminent operation. in

rafah at the southernmost.

tip of the Enclave in Gaza.

will happen by IDF forces,

you know, sometime before

Ramadan Ramadan is fastly

approaching does anything

that happened there in

Northern Gaza today with

this? uh Crush of

Palestinians trying to get

this Aid here. does

anything change that

calculus? but the idea is

conducting its operations.

um extensively, of course.

Rafa as we experienced,

uh in the last hostage

release that we conducted

2 weeks ago. it took place

in Rafa. that is where

hostages were held uh our

forces came under extensive

fire from all directions.

which implies and is which

is proof. to the fact

that Hamas is still very

very present their strong

there and has forces there.

So, of course we can't

complete our mission.

without going to Rafa and

dismounting destroying Hamas

operations there and

hopefully bringing home.

hostages there as well. Um,

of course and we are very

attentive to the US

Administration. we will

evacuate um, people from

that area. if we operate

when we operate, we will

conduct our operations. in

accordance to international

humanitarian law. based on

Military necessity.

precaution and

proportionality. Yeah, and

and will the IDF be

conducting kind of an

internal review. of what

took place there today

this this deadly crushed

there in Northern Gaza

absolutely, of course there

we are looking in order to

continue to supply

humanitarian Goods. We

need to make sure that

this doesn't happen doesn't

reoccur again. um, you know,

the people need the help

they need the humanitarian

supplies and from our

perspective. We need to

make sure that the

supplies can get through and

that the forces are not

under threat because of

this the supplies movement

the Convoy movement. but

indeed that the convoys

themselves do reach the the

destination they're supposed

to so that the people

that are in dire need

receive those those supplies,

okay? other Lieutenant

Colonel Peter Lerner with

the ID