Denies Shooting Against Gazans Waiting For Help, Israeli Military Launches Investigation

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

JAKARTA - The Israeli military has denied shooting Palestinians who are waiting for humanitarian assistance, saying it will carry out an investigation, when the death toll and injuries as a result of the incident have increased.

Israeli Arabic spokesman Defense Forces (IDF) Avichay Adraee denied reports of Palestinian media saying Israeli forces were shooting at civilians waiting for help in Gaza City.

"The report that the IDF targeted dozens of Gazans on Thursday night at a humanitarian aid distribution point is not true," he said in a tweet on social media platform X, reported The Times of Israel March 15.

Adraee added the incident was being investigated, asking the media to simply report "trustworthy information."

As previously reported, at least 29 Palestinians were killed while waiting for help in two separate Israeli military attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Gaza's Ministry of Health said.

In the first incident, Palestinian health officials in the Palestinian enclave said eight people were killed in airstrikes against an aid distribution center in the Al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Later, the number of victims increased as 21 people died and more than 150 people were injured by Israeli fire at a crowd of people waiting for aid trucks in the northern Gaza roundabout, Gaza's health ministry said.

Local sources reported that casualties occurred after Israeli warplanes and drones launched fire and missiles targeting crowds of people awaiting food delivery and aid supplies near the Kuwaiti Roundabout in Gaza City, quoted from WAFA.

The Kuwaiti Roundabout in Gaza City is a designated venue for the delivery of UN aid aimed at the northern Gaza Strip, with the approval of Israeli occupation authorities.

In recent weeks, the venue has witnessed repeated massacres carried out by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians awaiting the arrival of aid trucks.

In a previous statement, the Israeli military denied attacking aid centers, describing the report as "wrong."

"When the IDF assessed the incident with proper accuracy, we urged the media to do the same and rely solely on credible information," the statement said.