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They shoot and don't cry: killing the hungry who come looking for bread for their starving families

By: Tamim Abu Khait

The Haaretz newspaper revealed in a report authored by journalists Nir Hasson, Yaniv Kubovich, and Bar Peleg that, according to testimonies from IDF soldiers and officers, Israeli army forces have been deliberately shooting at Palestinian civilians near humanitarian aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip — under direct orders from their commanders, despite the fact that there was no threat posed by the crowds. So far, 550 Palestinian civilians have been killed in this manner.

The report opens with the following statement:

"IDF soldiers in Gaza testify that the army has been deliberately shooting at Palestinians near aid distribution sites over the past month. In conversations with Haaretz, officers and soldiers stated that commanders ordered troops to fire at the crowds to disperse or drive them away, even though it was clear they posed no danger. 'What’s happening in Gaza is a complete loss of the purity of arms,' said one of them."

According to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, since May 27, 549 people have been killed near aid centers and in areas where residents were waiting for UN food trucks.Over 4,000 have been wounded, but the exact number of casualties from IDF fire remains unknown.

According to the published testimonies, direct orders were given to fire at the crowds, without using non-lethal means such as tear gas. One soldier said:

"What’s happening in Gaza is a complete loss of the purity of arms."

The newspaper reported that the Israeli Military Advocate General has requested that the IDF’s internal investigation unit examine suspicions of war crimes in those areas.

Soldiers told Haaretz that the army shoots at civilians approaching aid centers either before or after food distribution, with the goal of dispersing them. One soldier described:

"In the place where I was, between one to five people were killed daily. They were shot at as if they were an attacking force — with heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, and mortars, without any use of non-lethal crowd dispersal tools."

Another soldier said:

"Sometimes we shoot early in the morning at people trying to save a spot in line. Other times we just approach and shoot at close range, even though there is no real threat to our forces."

The newspaper noted that internal discussions are taking place within the IDF about these incidents, and that the Military Advocate General has called for an investigation by a special unit.A senior source told the paper:

"The claim that these are isolated incidents doesn’t match reports of grenade and artillery use against civilians."

We all know that during this brutal war — which many countries around the world have described as a war of extermination — not a single officer or soldier, of any rank, has been prosecuted or punished for any of these incidents.Needless to say, no political figure has been held accountable either.

This report is a stain of disgrace on both the government and the military, and also on a democracy that allows such events to happen so easily and with near-total public silence.




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