The Israeli military said Palestinian militants opened fire as a crowd waited for aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip. He denied that his soldiers fired at the convoy. defending its actions during Thursday’s incident, in which Gaza authorities said 21 people were killed.

The incident echoed a similar incident that occurred in late February when Dozens of Palestinians died waiting for food trucks in northern Gaza. which has been largely cut off from aid supplies as Israel’s five-month military campaign to eliminate Hamas progresses.

Gaza’s health ministry blamed Israeli artillery for the deaths at a Kuwait roundabout on Thursday and said eight more people were killed in an airstrike in a separate incident in the central Gaza Strip. On Friday, the Israeli military said it had conducted a preliminary investigation and He concluded that his troops did not open fire.

“A review of our operational systems and IDF forces on the ground showed that there was no tank fire, no airstrikes, no artillery fire against the Gazan civilians in the aid convoy,” he said. This is a statement.

Palestinian gunmen opened fire as people were removing aid from trucks, and several civilians were also hit by trucks, he said.

The incidents have highlighted the chaotic conditions under which aid is arriving in Gaza and increased pressure on Israel to deliver more humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, which now lies in ruins.

The military said it was still investigating the incident but blamed Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, for what it called “smear campaign” aimed at blaming Israel killing people who were waiting for help.

Israel has rejected accusations from foreign governments and aid agencies that it has prevented the flow of food and other goods to the enclave’s 2.3 million residents and caused a growing risk of famine. The Israeli military said this week it plans to “flood Gaza” with aid through various channels.

He blames international aid groups for the failure to deliver aid and says he has begun arranging supplies with local private contractors.

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The aid the crowds had been expecting on Thursday arrived in a convoy of 31 trucks destined for distribution in the northern Gaza Strip, which was the first area hit by the offensive and where an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people live amid the rubble.

Reuters