The Israeli Defence Forces on Monday denied all involvement in the attack close to the aid delivery centre in Southern Gaza's Rafah, which left 31 people dead.

The IDF shared a video on its X handle, which showed gunmen open-firing on the people who had gathered at the venue to collect food aid.

"Drone footage shows gunmen in Gaza shooting at civilians going to collect aid," IDF wrote on X.

The IDF blamed the Hamas terror group for the attack.

"Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza," IDF said.

Video Shows Masked Gunmen

In the video, masked gunmen could be seen firing at civilians who had gathered to collect food aid.

Earlier, declining all reports that claimed IDF said in an X post: " False reports have been spread In recent hours, including serious allegations against the IDF regarding fire toward Gazan residents in the area of the humanitarian aid distribution site in Gaza."

"Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗗𝗙 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲," the statement said.

'Lifting Of Israeli Blockade'

Amid disputed reports of Israeli forces firing on civilians near a new privatised aid distribution point in southern Gaza, the head of the Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, said on Sunday that lifting the months-long aid blockade of the enclave is the only way to avoid “mass starvation”.

Philippe Lazzarini posted on social media saying that aid distribution “has become a death trap,” citing reports from international medical staff on the ground and local health authorities who reported at least 31 deaths and more than 150 injured as civilians were lining up to receive aid from the Israel and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which bypasses existing aid agencies.

“A distribution point by the Israeli-American plan was put far south in Rafah,” Lazzarini said on X.

“This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli army.”

He said aid delivery and distribution “must be at scale and safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA.”

Gaza's defence agency said Israeli forces had been responsible for the gunfire. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which uses private contractors and involves Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to secure its sites – has strongly denied that civilians were fired on, accusing Hamas militants of misinformation.