The Israeli soldiers deliberately shot non -armed Palestinians in search of help in Gaza after being “ordered” to do so by their commanders, reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Israel ordered an investigation into possible war crimes against the allegations of certain soldiers that he revealed on Friday, Haaretz said.
At least 549 Palestinians were killed and 4,066 injured while waiting for food aid distributed on sites managed by the Israeli and the United States Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the Gaza government media office on Thursday. GHF has been a source of criticism since its creation in May.
According to the Haaretz report, which quoted anonymous Israeli soldiers, the troops were invited to shoot the crowd of the Palestinians and to use unnecessary deadly force against people who did not seem to threaten.
“We have drawn machine guns from tanks and launched grenades,” said a soldier in Haaretz. “There was an incident where a group of civilians was struck during the progress under the cover of the fog.”
In another case, a soldier said that where they were stationed in Gaza, between “one and five people were killed every day”.
“It’s a killing field,” said this soldier.
“Control” method
The Israeli army “strongly rejected” the accusations of the report, according to a military declaration published on Telegram. “Any allegation of a difference in relation to the law or directives (military) will be examined in depth, and other measures will be taken as necessary. Deliberate fire allegations to civilians presented in the article are not recognized on the ground,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned the report, calling him “blood defamation” on Israeli Defense Forces (FDI), according to a statement by the Times of Israel News.
“The FDIs operate in difficult conditions against a terrorist enemy who operates from the civilian population,” they said. “FDI soldiers receive clear orders to avoid harming innocent civilians, and they act accordingly.”
According to Haaretz, the military defender general said to the army staff assessment mechanism, which examines incidents involving potential violations of war laws, to investigate alleged war crimes on these aid sites.
One of the authors of the report, Nir Hasson, told Tel Aviv Tribune that the Israeli directive to shoot civilians was part of a method to “control” assistance seekers.
“It is actually a practice of … controlling the crowd by fire, as if you wanted the crowd to run (from) a place, you shoot them, even if you know that they are not armed … You use fire to move people from one point to another,” he said Western Jerusalem.
While the journalist and his colleagues do not know the name of the commander who could have published such a directive, Hasson said that he would probably occupy a position at the top of the army.
Despite this practice on these sites, most of the Israelis and army troops still believe that the war against Gaza is fair, even if some cracks are emerging in this understanding, the journalist said.
“(There are) more and more people who wonder if this war is necessary, but also what the humanitarian price that the population of Gazan is (pay) for this war,” he said.
‘A death trap’
The “war crimes” take place on the GHF AID distribution sites in Gaza, said the Enclave government media office in a statement, referring to “shocking confessions” published by Haaretz.
“The direct military orders of the report to shoot on unarmed civilians who represent no threats, and the use of heavy machine guns, artillery and shells against peaceful gatherings awaiting food, are additional evidence that the Israeli army of the occupation pursues a systematic policy of genocide under the false appearance of the re -referee ” ‘.
Amman’s reports, Jordan, Hamdah Salhut of Tel Aviv Tribune said that the Haaretz report was “shocking”.
“The inhabitants of Gaza said that these distribution centers have now become a death trap for the Palestinians,” said Salhut. “The aid groups said that the Palestinians do not find themselves without choice – to death or to starve, or to die by seeking the very small food offered in the distribution centers managed by the GHF.”
The GHF operates four sites in Gaza – one in the center and three in the south – and the attacks on aid applicants have only increased since an Israeli blockage has been lifted and the foundation began to distribute food in late May.
Doctors said on Friday that six people were killed by gunshots when they were trying to gain food in southern Gaza.
The GHF was subjected to intense conviction by aid groups, including the United Nations, for its “weapon” of vital objects.
“We do not need a report of this nature to recognize that there have been massive violations of international law (in Gaza),” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in response to a question from Tel Aviv Tribune on the Haaretz report. “And when there is a violation of international law, there must be responsibility,” he added at a press conference in New York.
Elsewhere Friday, medical charities without borders, known by its French initials, MSF, called the GHF aid distribution sites “the slaughter of the felling of humanitarian aid”.
Since Israel began his war in Gaza in October 2023, at least 56,331 people were killed, with 132,632 injured in Israeli attacks, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported.