IDF soldiers opened fire with their machine guns and sometimes even with artillery shells against Gaza crowds when they deviated from the routes leading into food distribution centers, the Wall Street Journal said, quoting troops that spoke to the publication. They said warning shots were fired to keep the Gazans from approaching the troops, but sometimes the guns targeted the masses as well.
On Monday, more than 70 people who attempted to reach distribution centers were killed, according to Hamas health officials.
Gazans gather to receive humanitarian aid
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Gaza residents gather to receive humanitarian aid
(Photo: Dawoud Abu Alkas / Reuters )
The IDF claimed the soldiers were trying to avoid the use of fire and were probing the shooting incidents to learn how to avoid civilian casualties going forward. Officials in the military confirmed that civilians were killed but said the numbers were far lower than the Hamas claims.
A soldier in the reserves who spoke to the journal said he saw soldiers opening fire on civilians waving white flags if they deviated from the approved routes. “We have an unwritten rule that if you are worried and they get too close and you see that it could be something that puts you and your team at risk, you don’t take that risk,” he said, adding that "once the crowds passed what the soldiers considered a red line, the soldiers opened fire. They are told to fire warning shots in the air or to shoot at people’s knees, but mistakes happen."
According to the report, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), which has been providing the aid, said it has repeatedly asked the IDF to improve the safety of access routes to the sites, and that in recent weeks the military has taken steps to do so.
“Every day, our team shows up to do one thing: feed the people of Gaza,” GHF said in a written statement. “GHF is currently the only organization consistently delivering food to civilians in Gaza, and the heavy crowds at our distribution sites reflect that reality.”
Israeli officials warned the government in advance that the plan to distribute aid through the American GHF was dangerous and had the potential for violence and overcrowding.
Israel initiated the establishment of the fund to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Hamas, which has used it to finance its military capabilities and to control the civilian population.
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But according to the Wall Street Journal, Israel does not know who is actually picking up the aid at its sites, and the restrictions it has put on food supplies are deepening its international isolation.
"The plan has become a public-relations disaster for international firms that advised on the project, including the Boston Consulting Group, which fired partners who worked on it. GHF’s previous executive director, Jake Wood, a U.S. military veteran, quit just before the project launched." The journal wrote.
The IDF soldiers who spoke to the paper said anyone deviating from the allowed routes and nearing IDF positions, even to find a shortcut to the distribution site or because they got lost, was considered a threat and came under fire.
“When about fifteen hundred to two thousand people come through a very small entrance, and they are all stressed and pushing, it comes to warning shots. Or when they cross a certain boundary, it comes to warning shots,” one of the soldiers said. “It’s an uncomfortable situation.”
The government was proud to claim that soldiers were not involved in distributing food to the Palestinian population, at the insistence of IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and that distribution would be done only by American contractors, using funds from unknown sources. But in reality, the soldiers are securing the routes to the distribution centers and protecting them from crowds overrunning them.