Israel-Hamas war: Dozens killed in attack on crowd waiting for aid, Gaza health officials say

A group of Israeli citizens "broke through" Erez crossing at Israel's border with Gaza today and "harmed the activities of the IDF," military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.

No additional details were provided about why the citizens were at the crossing, which has been closed to the public since Oct. 7. Hagari said the citizens violated the law, and he condemned the criminal behavior.

"The fact that soldiers are attacked by those they protect is extremely serious," Hagari said. "Soldiers are busy with this instead of fighting in Gaza."

Dr. Isabelle Defourny, the president of Médecins Sans Frontières France, laid blame for today's deadly aid convoy incident on Israel and described it as a consequence of the "extreme deprivation" in northern Gaza.

“A few days ago, when we spoke to our staff there, they said they did not have enough food to eat and that some were resorting to pet food to survive,” Defourny said. “They also reported a lack of clean water, which is leading to diseases.”

In a statement today, Defourny said the situation is the "direct result of the string of unconscionable decisions taken by Israeli authorities while waging this war."

She reiterated the group's call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

"We call on Israeli authorities to allow unimpeded and streamlined humanitarian and essential aid like food to be delivered into and throughout the Gaza Strip, and for attacks on civilians to stop immediately," she said.

The chaotic aid distribution that turned deadly today is an example of why a cease-fire is needed to get food and supplies to Gaza, former Defense Secretary and ex-CIA Director Leon Panetta told MSNBC.

"We've seen these trucks besieged by crowds," Panetta said. "Why there can't be better order in the distribution of that humanitarian aid — with the amount of military that's there — I don't understand."

Israeli forces fired on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City, and at least 100 people were killed, with hundreds more injured. NBC News has not independently verified the reported death toll, and it’s not clear how many people were killed from gunfire or the ensuing panic.

The Israeli military said that an aid truck was surrounded by civilians, causing pushing and trampling, and that it was reviewing the incident.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, a leader of the Yemen rebel militia, threatened continued attacks against enemies in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

"Our surprises, God willing, will come effective and impactful," he said in a speech today.

Al-Houthi said American and British attacks on the group have only strengthened the Houthis' resolve in their support of Palestinians. An international coalition has criticized the militia's attacks, particularly in the Red Sea, which have disrupted commerce and led to retaliatory strikes from the U.S. and the U.K.

The group is one of the three Iran-backed groups in the region — along with Hamas and Hezbollah — that has maintained it is acting against Israel's "crimes" against Palestinian people.

"When a person is given the opportunity to be in a great position and then does not act, it is a serious situation for him," al-Houthi said. "We will not tire, we will not slack, we will not weaken, and we will not retreat."

Referring to the hundreds of casualties in a huge crowd of desperate civilians waiting for aid in Gaza City overnight, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric insisted that whether it was Israeli gunfire or a crush or the trucks that caused it, the war in Gaza was to blame. “These are all acts of violence, in a sense, due to this conflict,” he said.

Four more children have died of malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza, Gaza's Health Ministry reported today.

Kamal Adwan Hospital reported the deaths today, bringing the malnutrition death toll to 10 children this week. Four were previously reported at the hospital, as well as two others at Al-Shifa Hospital.

The Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill yesterday to define the term “antisemitism.”

“Outbreaks of antisemitism can be a harbinger of deep societal trouble and reflect that extremism and violence are eminent. It is dangerous and unacceptable,” Democratic Sen. Lori Berman, the sponsor of the bill, told The Associated Press. “When there is hateful behavior against anyone, it can quickly become a societal endemic.”

The definition in the bill was taken from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities,” IHRA said.

Florida is the latest to pass a bill to define the term as the war in Gaza continues. Last month, Georgia passed a similar bill. A coalition of organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council on American–Islamic Relations, issued a joint statement at the time, saying that the Georgia bill “falsely equates critiques of Israel and Zionism with discrimination against Jewish people.”

Israel's military has been securing aid convoys for the last few nights, but today's incident that resulted in deaths was the first to have issues, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.

Hagari said the military's tanks and drones were accompanying the convoy of aid trucks to help secure the humanitarian corridor, but at 4:45 a.m. local time, hundreds of people began to surround the convoy. Tanks fired "warning shots" to disperse the mob.

The IDF spokesperson denied shooting at civilians "either from the air or from the ground."

"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," Hagari said.

He added that in his opinion, based on footage from the drones, the tanks backed up cautiously and securely.

The convoy was coordinated by Israel, Hagari said, as part of the country's commitment to distributing aid to civilians. He acknowledged that distributing the aid has been a problem.

Israel is working to return all of the remaining hostages still captive in Gaza but will not fold to "delusional demands of Hamas," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference today.

"It is too early to say, despite our desire, if we will achieve another release plan in the coming days," he said. "We make great efforts to succeed."

The prime minister said that he has yet to receive a response to a demand he made to know the names of all the abducted citizens who will be released as part of the deal. He added that it is a "sacred goal" to return the hostages.

"We are determined to bring them all back," Netanyahu said. "With a plan or without a plan, we will fight until complete victory."

When asked whether Israel's military has completed a plan for operations in Rafah, Netanyahu told reporters, "We do not give notice when we will continue the operation."

"Have we prepared the continuation of the action? Yes," Netanyahu said. "The IDF presented it to the war Cabinet and to me. It will also be presented later to the general Cabinet."