Sen. Chris Coons listens at a Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing in Washington, DC, on April 9. Allison Bailey/AFP/Getty Images
US Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said “far too many civilians have died” in response to a CNN investigation into Israeli forces opening fire on a group of people as they waited for aid in Gaza on February 29.
“What’s clear both from the reporting I just saw on CNN and from dozens of previous incidents is that far too many civilians have died in the (last) six months of this conflict against Hamas,” Coons said in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Tuesday.
CNN analyzed dozens of videos and testimonies from 22 eyewitnesses, casting doubt on Israel’s timeline of what happened that night when more than 100 people were killed and 700 others were injured.
The evidence, which was reviewed by forensic and ballistic experts, indicated that automatic gunfire began before the Israel Defense Forces said the convoy had started crossing through the checkpoint, and that shots were fired within close range of crowds that had gathered for food.
Coons said CNN’s investigation highlights the “chaos in Gaza” and how “difficult” delivering humanitarian aid in the strip has become, calling for change.
The senator added he had raised the urgency of addressing deconfliction amid a rising number of people being killed while attempting to deliver aid when he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in person six weeks ago.
“That deconfliction clearly did not get fixed,” he said.
Source link: https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-04-09-24/index.html