China and Turkey joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan on Friday in condemning Israeli forces for firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid in Gaza the previous day, with its foreign ministry calling the event "yet another crime against humanity." France called for an independent investigation into the incident.
"We will ask for explanations, and there will have to be an independent probe to determine what happened," French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told the country's Inter broadcaster on Friday.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was shocked and strongly condemned the killing of civilians, adding a call for "the relevant parties, especially Israel, to cease fire and end the fighting immediately, earnestly protect civilians' safety, ensure that humanitarian aid can enter, and avoid an even more serious humanitarian disaster."
Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded, bringing the overall death toll in the Gaza Strip to more than 30,000 since Israel launched its war on Hamas nearly five months ago in response to the group's brutal terror attack on Oct. 7. That attack left about 1,200 people dead and saw Hamas take almost 250 others hostage.
Israel has responded with a blistering offensive in the Gaza Strip that has created a humanitarian catastrophe and devastation in northern areas including Gaza City, which have largely been cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.
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