Gunman shoots at Gazans getting food at aid center, footage released by Israel shows
Armed and masked gunmen in Gaza opened fire on civilians collecting aid at a distribution center, drone footage released by the Israel Defense Forces shows.
The footage, shared by the IDF on X on Sunday and purportedly taken in the nearby city of Khan Younis, shows the armed thugs throwing stones and shooting at civilians trying to collect basic supplies.
'Drone footage shows gunmen in Gaza shooting at civilians going to collect aid. Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza,' the IDF wrote in the post accompanying the footage.
5 The IDF has shared drone footage purportedly showing Hamas firing on civilians.
X/ IDF
The video has not been independently verified.
It follows claims, staunchly denied by Israel, that their forces killed dozens of people collecting humanitarian aid at a distribution center in Rafah in the Palestinian territories on Sunday.
More than 30 Palestinians were killed and nearly 170 injured in Sunday's shooting close to the distribution center, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said.
Later on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said 21 people were 'declared dead upon arrival,' while women and children were among 179 casualties.
The US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had earlier said that there were no deaths or injuries at the distribution center near Rafah and that aid was distributed as normal.
5 The footage follows claims, denied by Israel, that its force killed civilians at a food distribution center.
X/ IDF
5 The IDF footage was reportedly taken in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip.
X/ IDF
An Israeli soldier in Rafah later said that Israeli soldiers had fired near the crowd but not at them, and that no one was injured, the BBC reported.
Additional information is set to be released, following what the IDF described as false reports that its soldiers fired upon civilians at the aid center on the border with Israel.
5 It follows chaotic scenes at a food distribution center near Rafah.
AFP via Getty Images
'Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false,' the IDF said in a statement.
'The IDF is cooperating with the American Civil Organization (GHF) and international aid organizations in order to enable the distribution of aid to the Gazan residents — and not to Hamas.'
5 Children wait for food supplies in the Gaza Strip.
AFP via Getty Images
Witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds around 1,000 yards from the aid site run by the Israeli-backed GHF.
Thousands had gathered at the site when Israeli tanks reportedly approached, Palestinian journalist Mohammed Ghareeb told the BBC.
But the IDF has accused Hamas of spreading false rumors and 'fake news' to disrupt Israel's efforts to distribute aid.
'I urge not to believe every rumor spread by Hamas. We will investigate each and every one of those incidents and each and every one of those allegations. We are a professional military,' IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters from Rafah.
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