Hamas accuses Israel of spreading 'deception and false information' on Gaza aid attack

By Mohammed Hamood Ali Al Ragawi and Mehmet Nuri Ucar

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Palestinian resistance group Hamas accused Israel on Thursday of spreading "deception and false information" about an attack by Israeli forces on Palestinians in northern Gaza who were waiting for the arrival of humanitarian aid.

"The Zionist army is spreading deception and false information about the horrific massacre it committed, attempting to legitimize the systematic killing of our people through a trivial narrative," it said in a statement.

The statement highlighted Israel's widespread use of "misinformation and lies since initiating a genocidal war" against the Palestinian people.

It also called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and all human rights organizations to document "this heinous crime" and take necessary measures to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and violations.

Earlier in the day, Israeli forces fired on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid at the Al-Nabulsi roundabout near Al-Rashid Street in the southwest of Gaza City, killing at least 112 and wounding 760 others, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, 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 acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands 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.