German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock posted on social networking site X, saying, "The Israeli army must fully investigate how the mass panic and shooting could have happened."

Nearly five months into the Gaza War, international leaders have demanded a truce and an investigation after scores of desperate Palestinians were killed while storming an aid truck.

To send help into difficult-to-reach places, President Joe Biden said on Friday that the US will begin airdropping relief supplies into Gaza, as several of its partners have previously done. Biden pledged to "do more" to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

During a chaotic brawl on Thursday that left over 100 Palestinians dead in Gaza City, according to the health ministry of the Hamas-run enclave, Israeli forces opened fire as Palestinian citizens rushed for food supplies.

Following a warning that "a famine is imminent in northern Gaza if nothing changes," a World Food Programme official confirmed the fatalities.

The convoy of 38 relief vehicles was besieged by thousands of Gazans, who, according to the Israeli military, staged a "stampede" that left scores dead and injured, some of them ran over.

According to an Israeli source, troops opened fire on the throng because they thought it "posed a threat".

The health ministry in Gaza referred to the incident as a "massacre" and reported that over 750 people were injured and 115 people died.

UN head Antonio Guterres's spokesperson stated that a UN delegation that inspected some of the injured in Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital on Friday observed a "large number of gunshot wounds".

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated that the hospital had received 70 of the deceased and treated over 700 wounded, almost 200 of whom were still receiving care at the time of the team's arrival.

"I don't know if our crew looked over the remains of the deceased. According to what they observed when the patients who were still alive were receiving care, there were a lot of gunshot wounds, he added.

The most recent death toll from the Gaza health ministry puts the total number of Palestinian war fatalities at 30,228—mostly women and children—after the casualties in the relief convoy.

According to Israeli sources, the conflict started on October 7 with an unprecedented onslaught on southern Israel by Hamas, which claimed the lives of roughly 1,160 people, the majority of them civilians.

According to Israel's military, since ground operations started in late October, 242 troops have lost their lives in Gaza.

US will "demand" further help"

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock posted on social networking site X, saying, "The Israeli army must fully investigate how the mass panic and shooting could have happened."

"An independent probe to determine what happened," stated her French colleague Stephane Sejourne.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, countered that "every effort must be made to investigate what happened and ensure transparency".

According to a US State Department spokeswoman, aerial footage of the event demonstrated "just how desperate the situation on the ground is".

Biden declared Washington will start airdrop delivery "in the coming days" in defiance of internal administration cautions that airdrops "are a drop in the bucket" compared to what is needed.

At the White House, he told reporters, "We need to do more, and the United States will do more."

"Caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families" is what led to the deaths of Gazans, according to Biden, who also claimed he would "insist" that Israel allow additional relief trucks to enter the area.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responded to the announcement by stating that the very fact that airdrops were being discussed "is a testament to the serious access challenges in Gaza."

It went on, asking for a "sustained ceasefire" and the reopening of land borders into Gaza for humanitarian supplies. "Airdrops are not the solution to relieve this suffering, and distract time and effort from proven solutions to help at scale," it said.

Only 96 assistance trucks on average reach Gaza each day, according to US official Samantha Power, who is in charge of USAID, telling reporters in Ramallah that this is "a fraction of what is needed."

The killings in the aid convoy dealt a setback to attempts to mediate a fresh ceasefire in Gaza so that further supplies could be delivered and the Israeli hostages held by Palestinian terrorists could be released.

On October 7, militants captured over 250 prisoners, 130 of whom are still in Gaza, including 31 whom Israel claims are dead.

Though he conceded it remained doubtful, Biden told reporters on Friday that he was still "hoping" for an agreement by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar. Biden has previously stated that the convoy casualties would hamper truce discussions.

He proceeded to his chopper and remarked, "We'll get there, but we're not there yet -- we may not get there," without providing any details.

The tragedy "underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close," the White House said, adding that he discussed the convoy killings with the presidents of fellow truce mediators Egypt and Qatar late on Thursday.

"Either peace or perpetual war"

Reports differ on the precise events that took place in Gaza City.

For security concerns, the witness chose not to provide their identity, but she stated thousands of people surged towards relief vehicles, causing soldiers to open fire when "people came too close" to tanks. This is how the violence started.

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City, Hossam Abu Safiya, stated that "bullets and shrapnel from occupation forces" were the cause of all the victims that were hospitalized there.

According to Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, soldiers tried to disperse a "mob" that had "ambushed" the relief vehicles with "a few warning shots".

"Thousands of Gazans" attacked the convoys, "violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies," according to him.

In northern Gaza, where inhabitants have been forced to consume animal feed to avoid malnutrition, relief convoys have been robbed before.

The health ministry reported that four additional youngsters had passed away in Gaza City's Kamal Adwan Hospital from "malnutrition and dehydration," bringing the total to ten.

Meanwhile, the armed branch of Hamas announced on Friday that seven hostages who were still being held in Gaza had passed away as a result of Israeli military actions. AFP was unable to independently verify this claim.

More than 400 Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza War, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli activities were reported on Friday night by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, particularly in the vicinity of Ramallah, where it stated that a 16-year-old had been shot in the head by Israeli soldiers.

End//voice7news.tv