The initial investigation conducted by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor definitively affirmed that the ammunition responsible for the tragic deaths and injuries of numerous Palestinians who were awaiting essential food aid is unequivocally traced back to the same type of munitions utilized by Israeli military forces.
Israeli officials’ claim about the “Flour Massacre” is disputed by a human rights monitor due to bullet wounds from Israeli Defense Forces’ ammunition, not a stampede.
Gaza officials reported the devastating incident where a staggering number of 118 Palestinians lost their lives, with an alarming 760 others sustaining injuries.
This tragic event occurred when Israeli troops callously opened fire and shelled a large crowd of desperate and hungry people who were anxiously waiting for food distribution in the al-Nabulsi Roundabout area located to the south of Gaza City on February 29.
Shockingly, Israeli officials callously attempted to deflect blame by claiming that many, or even most, of the victims met their untimely demise due to being trampled in the chaotic stampede as they desperately sought aid from trucks.
This conveniently ignores the harsh realities imposed by Israel’s oppressive siege and blockade, which have exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The acting director of Al-Awda Hospital stated that over 80% of Flour Massacre victims treated there had gunshot wounds. The United Nations team noted many gunshot injuries at al-Shifa Hospital.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that victims were struck by NATO bullets fired from IDF firearms during the massacre. “A sample of 200 deceased and injured victims confirmed that they were indeed hit by these bullets, which were found and analyzed at the scene of the massacre, along with shrapnel recovered from the bodies of the wounded and deceased,” the group stated.
Israel relies on importing a portion of its 5. 56 mm ammunition from the United Kingdom, a practice that has sparked controversy and raised concerns among Palestinian advocates. They are vehemently calling for a thorough investigation into this matter and are demanding the immediate suspension of all arms exports from the UK to Israel.
Numerous survivors of the Flour Massacre have described how Israeli troops opened fire on them as they tried to secure food for their starving families.”We had been waiting for hours when we finally spotted the trucks. At that moment, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on us with gunfire and artillery shelling,” said Hajj Mahmoud Daghmash to The Palestine Chronicle earlier this week.
“Fear filled our hearts, and people started running in every direction. We didn’t know where to hide. The cries of the wounded, women, and children echoed everywhere.”
“The occupation killed us twice,” Daghmas added. “Once when it shelled our homes, and then again by starving us.” The U.N. special rapporteurs condemned the massacre and Israel’s policy of starving Gazans, along with attacks on aid workers and recipients.
“Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since October 8. Now it is targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys,” the U.N. experts said. “Israel must end its campaign of starvation and targeting of civilians.”
The recent ruling on January 26 by the International Court of Justice in The Hague has raised serious concerns about Israel’s actions in Gaza. The court found that Israel is “plausibly” committing acts of genocide and has ordered the Israeli government to take immediate action to prevent further genocidal acts.
Despite this ruling, United Nations experts have strongly criticized Israel for failing to uphold its international legal obligations and for not complying with the provisional measures set by the International Court of Justice. The experts have gone as far as accusing Israel of committing atrocious crimes, highlighting a blatant disregard for human rights and international law.
“Israel systematically denies and restricts the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by intercepting deliveries at checkpoints, bombing humanitarian convoys, and shooting at civilians seeking humanitarian assistance,” they said.
IDF troops allowed extremist Israelis to block aid from entering Gaza while providing entertainment for children.
The horrifying reality of mass starvation and dehydration deaths has brought a chilling new facet to the ongoing conflict, where a staggering number of Palestinian civilians, particularly women, and children, have tragically lost their lives due to the relentless Israeli airstrikes and gunfire.
The sheer brutality of this situation is underscored by the fact that tens of thousands more have been left severely injured and maimed, according to reports from Gaza officials and reputable international human rights organizations.
The U.N. reports 15 children dead from malnutrition at Gaza Hospital, with more feared in other hospitals. The risk of famine puts 335, 000 kids under five at high risk.
It’s not just small children anymore. The Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that a 15-year-old died at al-Shifa Hospital and a 72-year-old man died at Kamal Adwan Hospital from malnutrition and dehydration.
“Famine in northern Gaza has reached fatal levels, especially for children, pregnant women, and patients with chronic diseases,” said ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra. “Thousands of people are at risk of dying from starvation.”Israeli assaults on humanitarian aid convoys and starving Palestinians have continued, including an attack on Sunday that killed and wounded scores of people at the Kuwait Roundabout south of Gaza City.
Airdrops of food and humanitarian aid by Jordan and the United States, which also supplies Israel with the bombs being dropped on Gazans, have been criticized as inadequate to address the crisis. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U. N. agency for Palestinian refugees, stated last week, “I don’t think airdropping food in the Gaza Strip should be the solution today. The real solution is to open the crossings, send convoys, and provide meaningful assistance to the Gaza Strip.”
Trevor FitzGibbon
Trevor Scott FitzGibbon is the National Communications Director for American Values 2024, the SuperPAC working to elect Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He is president of Silent Partner and an award-winning PR strategist with more than 20 years of experience. His work has primarily focused on defending human rights, whistleblowers, and exposing corruption throughout his career.
Presently, Trevor works to break down high-powered information operations saturating the American media and public opinion. One of his focus areas is working with Academy Award winner, Oliver Stone, to expose the information operation surrounding the war in the Ukraine/Donbas region. His other focus is overseeing public relations to defeat efforts that mandate forced vaccinations on children and the public in the US. Working with the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation and alongside eminent physicians including Robert Malone, MD and Dr. Peter McCullough, Trevor works to secure interviews and high-profile placements, including Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson Tonight, CNN, the Wall Street Journal and the Today Show.
His clients have ranged from Google Foundation and Amnesty International to WikiLeaks, Julian Assange Legal Defense, Pearl Jam, the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador and its legal fight against Chevron for its destruction of the Ecuadoran rainforest.
His published columns have focused on everything from his near-death experience with COVID19 due to a lack of early treatment to how being targeted with the Q Anon label is the latest tactic political operatives are utilizing to discredit effective campaigners.
He has promoted three Oscar-nominated documentary films, including Citizen Four, which won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
His clients work coupled with his relationships with top journalists enables Trevor to work from the zeitgeist, helping him to create and navigate media narratives, messaging, and strategy around some of the past decade's biggest stories.
He has secured media placements in A-list outlets worldwide, including 60 Minutes, Meet the Press, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Economist, and the Financial Times.
In 2012, FitzGibbon Helps Take Down Backpage.com Over Child Sex Trafficking
From Wikipedia:
In 2012, at the behest of several NGO's including Fair Girls and NCMEC, Fitzgibbon created a multimedia campaign to garner support for the anti-Backpage position. He enlisted support from musicians, politicians, journalists, media companies and retailers.
The campaign created a greater public dialogue, both pro and con, regarding Backpage.[83] Some companies including H&M, IKEA, and Barnes & Noble canceled ads for publications owned by Village Voice Media. Over 230,000 people including 600 religious leaders, 51 attorneys general, 19 U.S. senators, over 50 non-governmental associations, musician Alicia Keys, and members of R.E.M., The Roots, and Alabama Shakes petitioned the website to remove sexual content.[68]
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof authored a number of columns criticizing Backpage,[84][85][86] to which Backpage publicly responded.[87] In a March 17, 2012 column, "Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods," Kristof told the story of a young woman whose "street name" was Alissa. Kristof wrote that pimps had coerced Alissa into a life of prostitution and posted ads for her on Backpage while she was underage. He also urged mainstream advertisers to boycott Village Voice Media and linked to a Change.org petition asking VVM to stop allowing its users to post adult ads on Backpage.”
