Israel Denies Attacking Refugee Shelters In Gaza, Blames Hamas Militant Group

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The Israeli military or Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was investigating an attack on Palestinian refugee shelters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza that drew criticism from the United Nations and the United States, adding the allegation was caused by Hamas rocket fire.

The IDF said, "after an operational system inspection, the IDF has now ruled out the possibility of the incident being caused by air strikes or artillery fire by its troops.

"At the same time, the IDF is conducting an in-depth examination of ground troops' activities in the facility area," the IDF said, as reported by The Times of Israel on January 25.

"The IDF is investigating the possibility of the attack being caused by Hamas gunfire," the IDF added.

Earlier, the United Nations and the United States blamed Israel for the attack on the Palestinian refugee shelter complex in Gaza that caused mass casualties. According to the United Nations, the attack hit a vocational training center housing 30,000 refugees in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

"There were many fatalities, several buildings burned down and there were reports of casualties. Many people tried to escape the scene, but were unable to do so," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territory James McGoldrick.

Thomas White, director of Gaza Affairs for UN UN agencies, said two tank shells hit one of the central buildings, where about 800 refugees took refuge.

At least nine people were killed and 75 injured. While the agency's head, Philippe Lazzarini said the death toll may be higher.

"The complex is a UN facility marked clearly and its coordinates are distributed to the Israeli government as we do to all of our facilities. Once again, this is a waiver of basic war rules," Lazzarini criticized.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said: "We regret today's attack on the UN's Khan Younis training center."

"Civil residents must be protected, and the essence of protecting UN facilities must be respected, humanitarian workers must be protected, so that they can continue to provide the humanitarian assistance they need to save the lives of civilians," Patel explained.

Israeli forces have launched their biggest ground offensive in at least a month, surrounding Khan Younis in which hundreds of thousands of people fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million population now live in Khan Younis and cities in the north and south. Palestinian officials say Israel has closed and surrounded major hospitals in the city, making it impossible for rescue teams to reach multiple injured and dead.

Israel says Hamas has "a command and control center, Hamas outpost and Hamas security headquarters in the region.

"This is a dense area and is an area inhabited by civilians, it is a place that requires very specific action methods and proper operations. There are areas with shelters, there are several hospitals, several locations sensitive. We have seen militants take advantage of this," the Israeli military said.