Israeli military probe concludes: Gazan terrorists killed civilians waiting for humanitarian aid

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday rejected the claim by Hamas that Israeli soldiers had fired upon Gazan civilians waiting for the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza City.

Instead, the IDF probe concluded that Gazan terrorists killed the civilians in what appears to be the latest propaganda effort by Hamas to increase international pressure on Israel to end its military operations against the Islamist organization. 

Gaza’s Healthy Ministry, which is run by Hamas, claimed that,, Israeli “tanks and helicopters” fired at the crowds at Kuwait Square in Gaza City on Thursday. Hamas further claimed that 21 people were killed and 150 were wounded in the incident. 

However, the IDF said its “intensive preliminary review” proved that “the IDF did not open fire at the aid convoy at Kuwait Square.”

The IDF probe instead concluded that terrorists in Gaza began shooting and killing the civilians in Gaza City. 

“As aid trucks were entering [the corridor], the Palestinian gunmen continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began looting the trucks,” the IDF stated.

“A review of our operational systems and IDF troops [on the ground] found that no tank shelling, airstrike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan crowd in the area of the aid convoy.”

The IDF released aerial footage that appeared to show terrorists in Gaza firing at the crowds in Gaza City before the arrival of the humanitarian aid. 

The Israeli army concluded that Hamas was hoping to incite radicalized Muslims to attack the Jewish state during the month of Ramadan, which began on March 10.

“As a result, on the first Friday of the month of Ramadan, a smear campaign was created with the aim of spreading baseless misinformation for the sake of instigating violence in other arenas,” the IDF stated. 

While the IDF is fighting against Hamas, Israel and the international community has increasingly focused on providing humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilian population. By February, Israel had facilitated the delivery of around 14,000 trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. 

The United Nations recently delivered humanitarian aid to civilians in northern Gaza through a route opened by the Israeli military. 

In late February, some hundred Gazans were killed during another humanitarian aid-related incident. Hamas immediately accused Israel of committing a “massacre.” However, the Israeli military’s investigation showed that the vast majority of the fatalities were killed in a stampede. 

“During the gathering, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of being crushed and trampled,” the Israeli military concluded. A small number of Gazans were reportedly killed when they threatened the safety of IDF soldiers in the area during the chaos that erupted. 

Hamas and its international allies tried to push for the United Nations to condemn the Jewish state for the tragic incident. However, the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution proposed by Algeria that condemned Israel. 

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that Washington was discussing the event with Jerusalem. 

“We have been in touch with the Israeli government since early this morning and understand that an investigation is underway. We will be monitoring that investigation closely and pressing for answers,” Miller said.