On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron shocked everyone when he expressed anger over the shooting of more than 100 Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza, even demanding "truth and justice" on the role of Israeli soldiers in the incident.
Israeli forces brutally murdered more than 100 Palestinians on Thursday as they waited for an aid delivery. Israel blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded the aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over rather than targeted by an Israeli drone.
"Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law," Macron said in a post on X.
He emphasized the imperative for an immediate ceasefire.
According to Reuters, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Paris would back the United Nations' call for an independent investigation when speaking to France Inter radio on Friday.
"The humanitarian situation has been catastrophic for several weeks now and what happened is indefensible and unjustifiable. Israel needs to be able to hear it and it needs to stop," Sejourne told France Inter.
"We have gone a step further, people are fighting for food and there are riots. I heard the request from the Secretary General of the United Nations to open an independent investigation and I think that France will support this," Sejourne said.
Israel is facing growing international pressure after the massacre of desperate and starved crowds that were gathered around aid trucks.
Germany, following suit with France, is demanding the Israeli army to "fully explain" what happened. Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, said she was shocked by reports of the incident.
"People wanted relief supplies for themselves and their families and ended up dead. The reports from Gaza shock me. The Israeli army must fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened," she wrote on social media.
The Guardian noted a statement from Israeli spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, "Tens of Gazan residents were killed as a result of overcrowding, and the Palestinian trucks unfortunately ran over them during an attempt to escape. An IDF force that was securing the area passed by the crowd and opened fire only when they encountered danger when the mob moved toward it in a manner that endangered the force."
He added, "Contrary to accusations, we did not fire toward individuals seeking aid and we did not fire toward the humanitarian convoy from the ground nor from the air."
The White House also released a statement to say the massacre of 112 people who were seeking food for their families was "tremendously alarming," despite their blind funding to Israel and recent veto for a call to a permanent ceasefire.
The State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, told reporters the U.S. was "urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place," and not all the facts are known. Washington would be "pressing for answers," he said.
Spain's foreign minister commented on the "urgency of a ceasefire," calling the deadly attack "unacceptable."
EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell expressed horror at "yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid."
"Disregard For Palestinian Blood"
Saudi Arabia again "strongly condemned" what they call a "targeting" of unarmed civilians, while Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also issued useless condemnations.
And last but certainly not least, Qatar warned that Israel's "disregard for Palestinian blood ... [will] pave the way for an expanding cycle of violence."
The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 30,000, mainly of whom are women and children.
