Exposing Injustice: Evidence Linking the Occupying Army to the Nablus Roundabout Tragedy
Watan-The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory for Human Rights has published a report on the massacre committed by the Israeli occupying army in northern Gaza Strip, which has become known as the “Tahin Massacre.” ( The Nablus Roundabout Massacre)
The Observatory stated that its preliminary investigations confirm that dozens of victims fell during the distribution of humanitarian aid west of Gaza City, as a result of being shot by the Israeli army.
It added that the Israeli army is attempting to absolve itself of responsibility for the heinous crime by disseminating a selectively edited aerial video clip, claiming that the crush and running over were the cause of the deaths of this large number of Palestinian civilians.
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory clarified that its investigative teams have been monitoring events since the very beginning and documented Israeli tanks firing intensively towards gatherings of Palestinian civilians as they attempted to receive humanitarian aid west-south of Gaza City. This resulted, according to the latest toll, in the martyrdom of 112 civilians and the injury of 760 others. Many of the victims are believed to still be in the targeted area.
It confirmed that dozens of victims were found to be wounded by gunfire, not as a result of running over or crush as claimed by the Israeli army spokesperson, who spoke about the crush narrative without denying the confirmed shooting captured in videos documenting what happened.
Four Indicators
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory highlighted four pieces of evidence confirming the involvement of the occupying army in the killing and injuring of hungry civilians. The first is the signs of injuries on the bodies of the deceased and the injured, a fact documented by the Observatory’s researcher upon examining the victims upon their arrival at Shifa Hospital, in addition to the mixture of blood with bags of flour and aid boxes.
It mentioned that the second indication is the videos published by eyewitnesses of the crime, with clear sounds of gunfire originating from Israeli tanks positioned towards the sea, which the army deliberately obscured in the video it published, but eyewitnesses had confirmed the presence of these tanks in the vicinity of the area where the crime occurred.
The third indication relates to verifying the clear gunshot signature as coming from Israeli army’s 5.56 caliber automatic rifles, audible in the published footage at the time of gunfire.
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory pointed out that the aerial video published by the Israeli army was selectively edited and distorted, yet it still shows the presence of at least two tanks at 01:06, with several bodies along the tanks’ path, not the trucks’ path.
It warned that between 1:06-1:28 in the video, most of the people present were seen fleeing in the opposite direction of the aid trucks, including those who were originally far from the trucks. This implies that the source of danger did not come from the trucks themselves or from crowding around them, but from another external source that frightened all the people present near and far from the trucks.
Moreover, the video published by the Israeli army did not show any instances of running over, consistent with the testimony of many victims who stated they were shot while attempting to flee the scene.
No Credibility in the Israeli Narrative
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory stated, “Under no circumstances should we accept the validity and credibility of what the occupying army publishes to absolve itself of the crimes it commits, without the possibility of examining what it releases by an independent external investigative body with full access to the information available to the Israeli army. Otherwise, we would be facing a situation where this army is the perpetrator, investigator, and judge at the same time.”
It emphasized that the video published by the occupying army is, in fact, evidence of condemnation against the army, as it shows that Israel is primarily responsible for this humanitarian catastrophe and the crime of starvation that drove civilians, under the pressure of famine imposed by Israel for 146 days, to rush towards the trucks carrying aid, which the army obstructed from entering safely and naturally in suitable quantities for the population, forcing those starving to risk their lives to reach the vicinity of Israeli concentration points where the aid trucks stop.
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory stated that the Israeli forces targeted civilians despite Israeli aircraft footage clearly showing that they were hungry civilians, posing no threat to Israeli forces, and their demand was for a small handful of aid despite the humiliation mechanism imposed for receiving it.
Repeated Crime
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory warned that Israeli gunfire towards starving aid recipients has become a recurring approach on “Salah al-Din Street” at times and near “Kuwait Circle” at other times in the city, where dozens have fallen in recent weeks due to direct targeting by Israeli forces.
