IDF and aid organisation reject Hamas claim of Israeli strike at food distribution centre

The Israel Defence Forces and the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Sunday denied a Hamas allegation that Israeli forces attacked a food line at an aid distribution site in Gaza.

Thirty people were killed and over 100 were wounded according to the Qatari-based Al Jazeera Network, which reported that Israeli forces struck Gazans on their way to receive food at the GHF centre in the al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah.

Earlier, a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross reported that 21 Palestinians had been killed and 175 injured, with eyewitnesses claiming the IDF opened fire from tanks about a kilometre from the aid distribution site.

The reports were picked up by outlets like Bloomberg News, which reported medics and witnesses saying that Palestinians headed to the Israeli-guarded buffer zones around the Rafah and Netzarim distribution stations were fired on by tanks or drones. 

But the IDF has said it was “currently unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site,” adding that the matter was still under review.

Meanwhile, the GHF denied the reports, saying in a statement that “our aid was again distributed today without incident,” according to the Telegraph.

“We are aware of rumours being actively fomented by Hamas suggesting deaths and injuries. They are untrue and fabricated,” the statement continued.

GHF CEO John Ackery said on Saturday there had been no fatalities or injuries at the centres his company operates, despite rumours to the contrary

“These false reports harm the work of our teams on the ground. There had not been any cases of deaths since our distribution efforts began," Ynet quoted him as saying said.

On X, the chief political analyst of Israel’s Channel 12, Amit Segal, shared a video allegedly from a security camera at the Gazan aid distribution site filming at the time of the reported fatal shooting. The video seems to show no gunfire.

The IDF said earlier that troops had opened fire and killed three terrorists suspected of transporting explosives they intended to use to rig an area in Khan Younis.

The military also said its engineering corps had destroyed a 700-metre-long underground tunnel, dug 30 metres below ground, according to Ynet.