JERUSALEM/GAZA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a recent statement that it did not shoot civilians near or within a humanitarian aid center in the southern Gaza Strip during an incident on Sunday, which resulted in the deaths of at least 31 Palestinians.
In the statement, the IDF said it was working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and international relief organizations to enable the distribution of aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, while ensuring that "it does not fall into the hands" of Hamas.
The Israeli military blamed Hamas for "doing everything in its power to prevent the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip."
A drone video footage released later by IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee showed what it claimed were armed, masked men firing at civilians trying to collect aid in a distribution center in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.
Gaza-based health authority said Sunday that at least 31 people were killed and dozens of others seriously injured when Israeli forces opened fire near a humanitarian aid distribution point in Rafah, southern Gaza, where residents were gathering to receive aid.
Most of the injuries were in the upper body, and the death toll could rise due to the severity of the wounds, said Mohammed Abu Afash, director of the Medical Relief Organization in Gaza.
Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that thousands of people had arrived at the aid center when gunfire and explosions erupted.■
