WhatsappThe IDF released aerial footage of the now infamous stampede at a humanitarian delivery point in the Rimal neighborhood in the Gaza City. Over a hundred Gazans were killed when a stampede broke out next to trucks bringing humanitarian supplies to civilians in Gaza.
Many news outlets have been erroneously reporting that Israeli troops killed the Gazans and caused the stampede, but aerial footage shows differently. The mob began to swarm around the trucks triggering the drivers to plow into the Gazans causing them to begin to stampede. In an effort to stop the Gazans from mobbing them, the IDF was ordered to fire warning shots and in some instances the soldiers aimed at their legs.
While Hamas blamed the IDF for the deaths, Israel said its troops did not fire on the crowd rushing the main aid convoy. So what did happen? Several of the Gazans approached the soldiers and a tank at an IDF checkpoint during the stampede. The soldiers were in threat of being attacked by the Gazans and shot to keep from being swarmed by the oncoming crowd.
News outlets around the world immediately took Hamas’ narrative that the IDF was involved with causing the stampede and killing the “civilians.” The above footage clearly shows the aid trucks plowed into the oncoming crowds after the people were set off on their stampede. The IDF soldiers were stationed at their checkpoint and contrary the initial reports only took part in the incident when their lives became at risk from the mob.
The IDF Spokesman Hagari said the following regarding the incident: “This morning, the IDF coordinated a convoy of 38 trucks to provide additional humanitarian assistance to the residents of northern Gaza. This humanitarian aid came from Egypt, went through a security screening at the Kerem Shalom humanitarian crossing in Israel, and then entered Gaza for distribution by private contractors.”
“As these vital humanitarian supplies were making their way towards Gazans in need, thousands of Gazans dispensed upon the trucks. Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies,” he explained.
“During this humanitarian operation, at 4:45 a.m., a mob ambushed the aid trucks, bringing the convoy to a halt,” he said as he presented a new video of the incident. “As you can see, in this video, the tanks that were there to secure the convoy saw the Gazans being trampled and cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots.”
He continued, “When the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand, the tank commander decided to retreat to avoid harm to the thousands of Gazans that were there. Here you can see how cautious they were when they were backing up. I think, as a military man, they were backing up securely, risking their own lives, not shooting at the mob.”
Unfortunately, the western media’s reporting of today’s stampede like many other times since Israel responded to Hamas’ October 7th pogrom, feels far more like the spreading of a a continuous stream of blood libels against the IDF and Israel. Israel, the Jewish people, and their allies need to ignore the flood of disinformation from the growing antisemitic crowds around the world and focus on winning the war. Israel’s enemies will only be silenced by a total Israeli victory against Hamas.
