On Friday, the Israeli army renewed its disavowal of responsibility for the “flour massacre” in Gaza City, which claimed the lives of more than 100 Palestinians who were waiting for humanitarian aid in the northern Gaza Strip at the end of last February.

This came according to the results of a preliminary investigation conducted by the Israeli army and presented to the Chief of the General Staff, Herzi Halevy, which indicated that the Israeli forces carried out shooting, but due to the presence of suspicious elements posing a “threat” by approaching the army forces.

On February 29, Israeli forces opened fire on hundreds of Palestinians as they gathered south of Gaza City waiting to receive humanitarian aid on Al-Rashid Street, especially flour (wheat). This left 118 dead and 760 wounded, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Anatolia, “The Commander of the Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, on Tuesday presented to the Chief of the General Staff, Major General Herzi Halevy, the results of the command’s investigation regarding the sequence of events that occurred during the humanitarian operation to bring supply convoys into the northern Gaza Strip.” The night of February 29th.

He claimed that the investigation reveals "that the Israeli army forces did not fire on the humanitarian convoy itself, but rather on a number of suspects who approached the nearby forces and who posed a threat to them."

He pointed out that the investigation also shows that "while the trucks were heading towards the distribution centers, a violent gathering arose around them, including about 12,000 Gazans, and they looted the equipment they were transporting."

He added, claiming: “In the context of theft operations, looting incidents were observed that caused serious harm to civilians in crowded areas, while ramming operations were observed.”

The Israeli army continued: “In addition, during their gathering, dozens of Gazans approached the Israeli army forces within a few meters, and thus posed a real threat to the force present at that point.”

He added: “At this stage, the forces carried out precise shooting to repel a number of suspects, and as the suspects continued to approach, the forces opened fire to eliminate the threat,” according to the same statement.

The IDF announced that it "will continue to investigate the incident by the Investigative Mechanism of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an independent inspection body charged with investigating unusual events that occurred during the fighting and which will independently examine the findings, investigation and formulate its findings in relation to the incident."

Hamas or international institutions did not immediately comment on the Israeli army's statement.

Earlier, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and many international institutions accused the Israeli army of responsibility for the massacre.