‘Deeply shocked’: India expresses concern at civilian deaths in Gaza during aid delivery

A day after the Israeli troops opened fire and allegedly killed 104 Palestinian lives and wounded several others, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said it was deeply shocked at the loss of lives in northern Gaza on Thursday when at least 112 people were killed while waiting for aid delivery.

“Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement came a day after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that more than 25,000 women and children have been killed by Israel since October 7.

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During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Austin said “It is over 25,000.“Austin added that about 21,000 precision-guided munitions had been provided to Israel since the start of its war in Gaza.

Israeli officials acknowledged that troops opened fire, saying they did so after the crowd approached in a threatening way. The officials insisted on anonymity to give details about what happened, after the military said in a statement that “dozens were killed and injured from pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks.”

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede for food aid and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

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Israel’s war against Hamas has created a humanitarian catastrophe throughout the Gaza Strip and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.

The U.N. says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation; around 80% have fled their homes. The war began after Hamas-led terrorists stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan had accused Israel of targeting civilians in the incident. In separate statements, they called for increased safe passages for humanitarian aid and for the international community to take decisive action to pressure Israel to abide by international law and to reach an agreement for an immediate cease-fire.

With inputs from agencies.