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World leaders react to Israeli massacre in Gaza's al-Rashid Street

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Mar 2024 05:22
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The White House calls the deaths "tremendously alarming" but fails to blame the Israeli occupation forces for the massacre.

People mourn at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, over the bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli massacre in the al-Rashid Street west of Gaza City, on February 29, 2024. (AFP)

Reactions to the massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces in the al-Rashid Street west of Gaza City have poured in from around the world.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip condemned the Israeli massacre, saying 112 people were martyred and more than 750 wounded.

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.

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."

Washington will be 'pressing for answers'

Though his country continues to veto a call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, US President Joe Biden said the incident would complicate delicate ceasefire negotiations in the almost five-month-old war, with the White House calling the deaths "tremendously alarming".

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters the United States was "urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place," failing to blame the Israeli occupation forces for the massacre.

Washington will be monitoring an upcoming investigation closely and "pressing for answers," he said.

Israeli soldiers firing at civilians is 'unjustifiable': France

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.

'Israel' commits 'another crime against humanity': Turkey

Turkey accused "Israel" of committing "another crime against humanity," with the Turkish Foreign Ministry saying that "the fact that Israel... this time targets innocent civilians in a queue for humanitarian aid, is evidence that (Israel) aims consciously and collectively to destroy the Palestinian people."

Colombia suspends purchases of weapons from 'Israel'

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro denounced a "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.

"The world must block Netanyahu."

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".

"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.

'Totally unacceptable': Borrell

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell denounced the deaths as "totally unacceptable".

"I am horrified by news of yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid," he said on X.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry condemned "in the strongest terms the heinous massacre committed by the Israeli occupation." calling for "urgent international action" to halt the war in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry condemned the deaths and reiterated "the need to reach an immediate ceasefire". It also renewed its "demands to the international community to take a firm position to oblige Israel to respect international humanitarian law, immediately open safe humanitarian corridors, allow the evacuation of the injured, and enable the delivery of relief aid".