CNN
–
Israeli forces have denied new reports that soldiers have been ordered to fire on unarmed Palestinians awaiting humanitarian assistance in Gaza after hundreds of people were reported to have been killed in recent weeks while approaching food distribution sites.
On Friday, the Daily Harletts newspaper published an article claiming that Israeli soldiers in Gaza had been instructed by their commanders to shoot a Palestinian crowd approaching the aid site.
One soldier, who spoke anonymously with Haaretz, described the approach route to aid sites as a “sacrificed field” in which Israel will cause fires, even if there is no immediate threat. According to this article, Israeli forces recently began dispersing shells across the crowd, resulting in a sharp increase in casualties.
“We strongly reject the charges raised in the article. The IDF did not instruct the military to intentionally shoot civilians, including those approaching the distribution centre,” the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said in response to the article. “To be clear, the IDF directive prohibits intentional attacks on civilians.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz rejected the report as “a malicious lie designed to trust the IDF, the world’s most moral army.”
More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 and since May 27th, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed as they approached aid sites or trucks carrying trucks. The Palestinians approached the site and fired on a near-base basis when health officials and emergency responders said.
In one such incident earlier this month, more than dozens of witnesses, including those injured in the attack, told CNN that Israeli forces shot crowds with repeated volleys of gunfire. Weapons experts said the shooting rate heard on footage and the images of bullets recovered from the victims matched the machine guns used by Israeli forces.
On multiple occasions, the IDF has allowed to fire what is called a “warning shot” with Palestinians approaching military positions near the aid distribution site. He also said he is investigating victim reports, but the findings so far have not been published.
According to Haaretz, the military advocacy general has directed the IDF’s general staff fact-finding assessment mechanism (thinking cases that include potential violations of war law) to investigate suspected war crimes near the aid site.
“An allegations of deviation from the law or IDF directive will be thoroughly considered and further action will be taken as necessary,” the IDF said Friday.
CNN has contacted the IDF for additional comments.
The Gaza aid site where the death occurred is run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) of Israeli-US Support. The group’s distribution was confusing from the beginning a month ago, with hopeless Palestinian crowds rushing through the site the moment they opened, often within an hour, before making available assistance.
The GHF was established to replace the UN aid distribution mechanism that Israel and the United States accused of looting Hamas. Hamas rejects these claims, and humanitarian groups say that most of the undispersed food aid reaches civilians.
The GHF coordinated with the Israeli military to designate specific routes for Palestinians traveling to aid sites, and has received acute criticism from aid experts. It acknowledges several episodes of violence occurring outside of immediate aid sites, but it repeatedly described it as “going through without any issues” with food distribution work.
In response to Haaretz’s report, the organization said it was “unaware” of the specific incident described. Nevertheless, “these allegations are too heavy to ignore, so we ask Israel to investigate them and make the results transparent and timely.”
On Thursday, the US State Department announced it would award $30 million to the organization. It says it is an ongoing sign of US support for the GHF, distributing 46 million meals in four weeks of operation.
