An Israeli Air Force attack helicopter (right) and drone (left) fly over the northern Gaza Strip near the border with southern Israel on Jan 2, 2024, amid battles between Israel and Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

UNITED NATIONS/JERUSALEM – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an investigation into a drone footage that appears to show an Israeli attack on four civilians in Gaza, his spokesman said on Friday.

"The secretary-general is deeply disturbed by the video footage that reportedly shows four Palestinians walking, apparently unarmed, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for the UN chief. 

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"He calls for a thorough, independent and credible investigation into these events."

I told him (Blinken) that I hope we would do this with US support but if necessary – we will do it alone.

Benjamin Netanyahu, PM, Israel

At least 32,070 Palestinians have been killed and 74,298 have been injured in Gaza since Oct 7, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said on Friday.

The footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows that four men, who appeared to be unarmed, were walking on a road. An Israeli drone launched an attack on them. Two men were killed instantly. A survivor was seen walking ahead, obviously in an effort to escape. He was hit in a second attack. The other man was seen staggering on the road and was hit by yet another missile.

The attack is believed to have taken place in early February 2024 after Israel was ordered by the International Court of Justice to take all measures to avoid acts of genocide, said Al Jazeera.

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Al Jazeera was able to verify the location of the attack in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The footage was retrieved from a downed Israeli drone, according to Al Jazeera.

Palestinians attend Friday prayers during Ramadan in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 22, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Blinken visits Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his eighth visit to Israel on Friday since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct 7, 2023. 

"I met with Secretary of State Blinken. I told him that I greatly appreciate the fact that for more than five months we have been standing together in the war against Hamas," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a statement released by Israel's Government Press Office.

He said Israel recognizes the need to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zones and is "working to this end," according to the statement, yet adding that there is "no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there."

"I told him that I hope we would do this with US support but if necessary – we will do it alone," Netanyahu stressed in the statement.

Blinken discussed efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire of at least six weeks that would secure the release of Israeli hostages and enable an increase of humanitarian assistance, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Friday.

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In his meeting with Netanyahu and his war cabinet, Blinken warned Israel that if it does not come up with a plan for the "day after" Hamas, Israel will be stuck in Gaza for years and will see its international standing undermined and national security in danger, according to Israel's Walla news site.

If current trends continue, the only possible results are Hamas remaining in power or anarchy in Gaza, Blinken reportedly told Netanyahu.