Amnesty International, OIC call for urgent probe into Gaza aid attack

ANKARA - Amnesty International called Thursday for an urgent investigation into the killing by Israeli forces of more than 100 Palestinians who waiting for food supplies in Gaza.

"There must be an urgent investigation into horrific reports that scores of Palestinians were killed & injured while trying to receive food aid in northern Gaza today," Anadolu Agency reported the London-based human rights group said on X.

It said it is conducting an investigation into the incident as part of "its ongoing documentation of violations against Palestinian civilians."

The statement came after Israeli forces fired on a crowd of Palestinians early Thursday as they awaited humanitarian aid in Gaza City, killing at least 112 people and injuring 760 others, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

Highlighting the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the organisation pointed to the UN's recent warning of an imminent famine, attributing the crisis to Israel's "illegal blockade and relentless bombardment" of the region over the past 16 years.

"The calls by Israel’s National Security Minister (Itamar) Ben-Gvir in the aftermath of today’s tragedy to stop transferring aid to Palestinians in Gaza, claiming it endangers Israeli soldiers, are outrageous and inhumane," it said.

Amnesty International urged Israel's allies to end their inaction in response to Tel Aviv’s defiance of the International Court of Justice's orders and its disregard for its obligations under international law, calling for immediate and effective action to "prevent genocide and protect civilians in Gaza."

Meanwhile, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in a statement said it "condemns in the strongest terms the continued massacres and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army, the latest of which was the heinous massacre against Palestinian citizens who were waiting for aid trucks at the Nabulsi roundabout near Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City, which led to the martyrdom and injury of hundreds of them."

It also urged the global community to "urgently" halt the Israel's "crimes of genocide," ensure the international safeguarding of Palestinian civilians, and guarantee the timely delivery of essential supplies and continuous urgent humanitarian aid for them.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, killing at least 30,035 Palestinians and wounded over 70,457 others amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The regime has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation. - BERNAMA