Macron strongly condemns Flour Massacre in Gaza
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French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed deep indignation at the disturbing images from Gaza, where IOF targeted civilians waiting for food aid amid a deliberate and unprecedented famine crisis.
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A Palestinian child that survived Gaza's Flour Massacre in a hospital in Gaza on February 29 (Social media)
French President Emmanuel Macron strongly criticized the Israeli military on Friday for opening fire on hundreds of Palestinians waiting for food aid, as the besieged enclave faces a deliberate and unprecedented famine.
"Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law," Macron said in a post on X.
Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 1, 2024
I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law.
The French leader labeled the situation in Gaza as "terrible" and called for the protection of civilians.
"A ceasefire must be implemented immediately to allow humanitarian aid to be distributed," Macron added.
'Unjustifiable'
Earlier, the French Foreign Ministry said that "the fire by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access food is unjustifiable."
The "tragic event" came as an "increasing and unbearable number of Palestinian civilians" were suffering from hunger and disease, it added, stressing that "Israel" must abide by international law and protect aid deliveries to civilians.
Writing on X that Palestinian "civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers," French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his "strongest condemnation" of the killings.
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According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 104 Palestinians were killed and more than 760 others were wounded by Israeli occupation forces in the massacre on Thursday.
Proof of 'Israel's' genocidal war
Simultaneously, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the massacre, adding that it was part and proof of "Israel’s" ongoing genocidal war. The Ministry further called on the international community and the countries that support the occupation to urgently intervene to push for a ceasefire, being the only way to protect civilians.
A field source from the Palestinian Resistance told Al Mayadeen that Israeli armored vehicles and tanks ran over the bodies of several martyrs, while others fired incendiary shells toward civilians in the area.
In the same context, a horrific photo was circulated on social media depicting a Palestinian man who was run over by an Israeli-tracked vehicle. The body was minced by the tracks and is unrecognizable. The arm of the killed man showed a black zip tie the Israelis used for Palestinians detained in the strip.
🇵🇸🇮🇱 Israel ran over a Palestinian in Gaza with a bulldozer.
— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) February 29, 2024
Everything was flattened but you could still see the zip tie on his right arm.
I blurred out the image in black and white.
I swear to God I don't know how people defend Israel at this point.
Pure evil. pic.twitter.com/WJWZWxbYe8
The occupation forces also arbitrarily detained hundreds of civilians in the same area, transferring them to an unknown location, the source mentioned.
The Israeli occupation military claimed that a "stampede" occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks. An Israeli source said troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."
Colombia suspends purchases of weapons from 'Israel'
Reactions to the massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces in al-Rashid Street west of Gaza City have poured in from around the world.
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro denounced the ongoing Israeli "genocide" of the Palestinian people and suspended purchases of weapons from the Israeli occupation entity.
"Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Netanyahu. This is called genocide and recalls the Holocaust," Petro wrote on X.
On his account, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares wrote on X that "the unacceptable nature of what happened in Gaza, with dozens of Palestinian civilians dead as they were waiting for food, underlines the urgency of a ceasefire."
Similarly, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza and urged "Israel" to protect the Palestinian population after the "tragic deaths."
Le tragiche morti a #Gaza richiedono un immediato cessate il fuoco per favorire più aiuti umanitari, la liberazione degli ostaggi e la protezione dei civili. Chiediamo con forza ad #Israele di tutelare la popolazione a Gaza e di accertare, con rigore, fatti e responsabilità.
— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) February 29, 2024
"We strongly urge Israel to protect the people in Gaza and to rigorously ascertain facts and responsibilities," he said on X.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her "deep dismay and concern."
Guterres 'appalled by the tragic human toll'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident and was "appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
"The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged north where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week," Dujarric said.
European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell denounced the deaths as "totally unacceptable."
He wrote on X, "I am horrified by news of yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid."
Read next: US vetoes UNSC statement blaming IOF for Gaza's al-Rashid massacre
