Denies Shooting Against Aid Convoy, Israeli Military: Investigation Results, IDF Shoots Suspect

The Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The Israeli military on Friday said the results of an investigation into the shooting incident of deadly humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip last month found Israeli forces Defense Forces (IDFs) did not fire on the aid convoy, but targeted "a number of suspects" who approached and posed threats to troops nearby.

More than 100 people were killed in an incident in northern Gaza, later known as the "Flour Massacre", when Israeli forces opened fire near civilians gathered around food aid trucks, triggering panic.

A local journalist in Gaza, Khader Al Za'anoun, who was at the scene and witnessed the incident, said chaos and confusion only started after Israeli forces opened fire, and many victims were hit by trucks.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said at least 118 people were killed and more than 700 injured as a result of the incident, making it one of the deadliest incidents since the war in Gaza began.

"The command investigation found IDF troops did not fire on humanitarian convoys but opened fire on a number of suspects approaching nearby troops and pose a threat to them," the IDF said in a summary of the report released Friday.

The IDF said thousands of Palestinians were crowding aid trucks heading towards the distribution center and looting truck equipment. They added, "incidents that caused heavy losses" occurred to civilians because they were trampled on and hit by a truck.

Lenih jauh IDF mengatakan, selama kerumunan warga Palestina "maju ke arah pasukan IDF di dekat, hingga beberapa meter dari mereka, dan demikian menimbulkan ancaman nyata bagi pasukan pada saat itu."

"At this stage, troops opened warning shots to keep the suspects away. As the suspects continued to move forward at them, troops opened fire right at a number of suspects to eliminate the threat," according to an IDF summary.

Earlier, the United Nations said most of the civilians injured in the incident suffered gunshot wounds. However, the international agency was unable to determine the same thing for the victim to die.

UN experts earlier this week condemned the incident as a "sacre", calling on Israel to relax strict restrictions on food aid entering Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people face possible hunger.