JERUSALEM

The Israeli army claimed Friday that armed Palestinians shot at civilians who were waiting for aid in Gaza City.

The army said it is investigating the incident which marks the first comment from the Israeli military on the killing.

At least 20 people were killed and 161 injured Thursday near the Kuwait Roundabout in southeastern Gaza City as they waited for aid from the southern Gaza Strip.

Despite witnesses confirming to Anadolu that the massacre was committed by Israeli drone and helicopter gunfire, the army alleged that ''there was no shooting by the IDF (army) towards the aid convoy in Kuwait Square.''

It noted that it ''continues to investigate the incident while making a concerted effort to bring in humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip.''

The army released a video Friday ''of armed Palestinians shooting at Gazan civilians about an hour before the incident on Thursday,'' although the video does not show clear evidence of the claims.

There has been no comment by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on the army's statement

Israeli has targeted Palestinian civilians while they wait for aid in Gaza City several times.

The latest incident took place last Monday, resulting in fatal casualties as Palestinians waited near the Kuwait Roundabout for aid trucks.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

At least 31,490 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and 73,439 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul