Witnesses said soldiers forced civilians away from the area, preventing them from collecting aid from the first convoy to reach the area in over a month. A video seen on social media, taken by an IDF soldier, showed two Israeli armored vehicles leaving the school as it was engulfed in flames

Staff from the UN World Food Program, which sent the aid, as well as other international sources, said Gazans did not even have time to collect the aid. They said the military launched an attack in the area and soldiers had surrounded the building before the food was distributed.

The convoy, consisting of two trucks and a water tanker, was the first to be approved by the military to enter northern Gaza after a month and a half of siege. The decision followed international pressure over the failure to deliver aid to Gazans.

Witnesses said soldiers forced civilians away from the area, preventing them from collecting the aid, which was later destroyed by the fire. Reports also said civilians had been killed at the site. The soldiers involved belonged to the Rotem Battalion in the Givati Brigade, the reports said.