Office refutes video accusing it of covering up the deaths of 31 civilians and injuries of 200 at Rafah aid distribution site
The Gaza Government Media Office denounced what it called a “fabricated” video released by the Israeli military accusing it of attempting to conceal the killing of 31 Palestinian civilians and the wounding of 200 others seeking humanitarian aid at a distribution site in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
The office released a statement Sunday condemning the Israeli military's “blatant and exposed attempt” to absolve itself of responsibility for the deaths at a so-called Israeli-American humanitarian aid distribution center.
The military released a drone-captured video claiming that “armed gunmen” fired on crowds searching for food, but Gaza authorities dismissed it as part of a calculated misinformation campaign.
“The timing of the video's release, over 15 hours after the massacre, and its clear manipulation to exonerate the (Israeli) occupation confirm it's a deliberate media effort unrelated to the truth,” the office said, questioning why the footage wasn't released immediately if a drone recorded the event.
Field evidence and survivor testimonies contradict Israel's narrative, showing no local armed clashes as Israeli forces fully controlled the area, the statement added.
“Dozens of bodies lay on the ground, with direct head, chest and abdominal injuries from Israeli gunfire targeting civilians,” the office said.
The video, purportedly from eastern Khan Younis rather than west Rafah, where the aid center was located, exposed Israel's deception, the office said. It noted that the chaos stemmed from gangs with known ties to Israeli security who looted aid under Israeli aircraft surveillance and fired into the air to instill fear, with no evidence of gunfire exchanges.
The office further noted that the same video released by the occupation army to prove its story contains a scandalous element that undermines that story completely. It shows the distribution of “bags of flour,” even though the so-called “Israeli-American humanitarian aid” centers do not distribute flour at all, but instead aid stolen from international organizations such as the Rahma Foundation.
Israel's claim that the Palestinian group Hamas obstructs aid and creates chaos is refuted by daily realities, with Israel blocking crossings, targeting aid trucks and enabling gang thefts for over 90 days, the office added.
Israel's history of using fabricated videos to justify crimes, such as attacks on UNRWA schools, lacks credibility with international organizations, the office said.
“Israeli soldiers fired on hungry crowds. The Rafah massacres are documented evidence of collective killing, not excused by a misleading, empty video,” it added.
The statement was in response to a post by Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X claiming that drone footage showed “gunmen and masked people” throwing stones and shooting at Gaza residents collecting looted aid in southern Khan Younis.
Adraee accused Hamas of starving Gaza's population and sabotaging aid distribution.
Since May 27, Israel has implemented an aid distribution plan through the Israeli-American “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” bypassing UN and international relief agencies.
The plan, operating in southern Gaza's “buffer zones,” has repeatedly failed, with Israeli forces firing on crowds, turning aid sites into “death traps,” according to the Gaza Media Office and the Health Ministry.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's population.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
