On Friday, 1 March, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called for an investigation following the deaths of approximately one hundred people, according to Hamas, during the distribution of humanitarian aid. This tragedy is reportedly due to shots fired by Israeli soldiers who felt threatened and stampedes. In addition, 700 people were reportedly injured.
On X (formerly Twitter), Mr Michel—who said he was “[s]hocked and repulsed by yesterday’s killing of innocent civilians”—called for an independent investigation to be launched immediately and for those responsible to be held accountable.
“Deeply disturbed” by images of the event, Mrs von der Leyen felt, “Every effort must be made to investigate what happened and ensure transparency”.
On the evening of 29 February, High Representative of the Union Josep Borrell said he was “horrified” by the news of further “carnage” among Gazan civilians who are “desperate for humanitarian aid”. Mr Borrell considered the deaths to be “totally unacceptable”. By way of reminder, he said, “Depriving people of food aid constitutes a serious violation of IHL [international humanitarian law]”—calling for unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)