Latest news with #aiddistribution
Asharq Al-Awsat
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli Military Orders War Crime Probe into Gaza Shootings, Paper Says
Israel's Military Advocate General has ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid distribution sites, Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said. Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper, quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers as saying they were told to fire at the crowds to keep them back, using unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat. The military told Reuters that the Israeli army had not instructed soldiers to deliberately shoot at civilians. It added that it was looking to improve "the operational response" in the aid areas and had recently installed new fencing and signs, and opened additional routes to reach the handout zones. Haaretz quoted unnamed sources as saying that the army unit established to review incidents that may involve breaches of international law had been tasked with examining soldiers' actions near aid locations over the past month. The military told Reuters that some incidents were being reviewed by relevant authorities. It added: "Any allegation of a deviation from the law or army directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary." There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year-old military campaign by Israel against Hamas in Gaza that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and displaced most of its two million inhabitants. Thousands of people gather around distribution centers desperately awaiting the next deliveries, but there have been near daily reports of shootings and killings on the approach routes. Medics said six people were killed by gunfire on Friday as they sought to get food in the southern Gaza Strip. MORE THAN 500 HAVE DIED, GAZA AUTHORITIES SAY In all, more than 500 people have died near aid centers operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) or in areas where U.N. food trucks were set to pass since late May, the Gaza health authorities have said. The unnamed Israeli soldiers told Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at the crowds of Palestinians to disperse them and clear the area. During a closed-door meeting with senior Military Advocate General officials this week, legal representatives rejected army claims that the incidents were isolated cases, Haaretz reported. There has been widespread confusion about access to the aid, with the army imposing for a time a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on approach routes to GHF sites. But locals often have to set out well before dawn to have any chance of retrieving food. In a statement late on Friday, a GHF spokesperson said there had been no incidents or fatalities to date at or in the immediate vicinity of its distribution sites. The statement said the army is tasked with providing safe passage for aid-seekers to all humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, including GHF. "GHF is not aware of any of these incidents but these allegations are too grave to ignore and we therefore call on Israel to investigate them and transparently publish the results in a timely manner," the spokesperson said. The Gaza war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into the enclave. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza. The Gaza health ministry said on Friday that at least 72 people were killed and more than 170 wounded by Israeli fire across Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
Al Arabiya
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israeli military orders war crime probe into Gaza shootings, paper says
Israel's Military Advocate General has ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid distribution sites, Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said. Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper, quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers as saying they were told to fire at the crowds to keep them back, using unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat. The military told Reuters that the Israelis army had not instructed soldiers to deliberately shoot at civilians. It added that it was looking to improve 'the operational response' in the aid areas and had recently installed new fencing and signs, and opened additional routes to reach the handout zones. Haaretz quoted unnamed sources as saying that the army unit established to review incidents that may involve breaches of international law had been tasked with examining soldiers' actions near aid locations over the past month. The military told Reuters that some incidents were being reviewed by relevant authorities. It added: 'Any allegation of a deviation from the law or [Israeli army] directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary.' There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year-old military campaign by Israel against Hamas militants in Gaza that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and displaced most of its two million inhabitants. Thousands of people gather around distribution centers desperately awaiting the next deliveries, but there have been near daily reports of shootings and killings on the approach routes. Medics said six people were killed by gunfire on Friday as they sought to get food in the southern Gaza Strip. More than 500 have died, Gaza authorities say In all, more than 500 people have died near aid centers operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) or in areas where UN food trucks were set to pass since late May, the Gaza health authorities have said. The unnamed Israeli soldiers told Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at the crowds of Palestinians to disperse them and clear the area. During a closed-door meeting with senior Military Advocate General officials this week, legal representatives rejected the Israeli army's claims that the incidents were isolated cases, Haaretz reported. There has been widespread confusion about access to the aid, with the army imposing for a time a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on approach routes to GHF sites. But locals often have to set out well before dawn to have any chance of retrieving food. In a statement late on Friday, a GHF spokesperson said there had been no incidents or fatalities to date at or in the immediate vicinity of its distribution sites. The statement said the Israeli army is tasked with providing safe passage for aid-seekers to all humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, including GHF. 'GHF is not aware of any of these incidents but these allegations are too grave to ignore and we therefore call on Israel to investigate them and transparently publish the results in a timely manner,' the spokesperson said. The Gaza war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into the enclave. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza. The Gaza health ministry said on Friday that at least 72 people were killed and more than 170 wounded by Israeli fire across Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli military orders war crime probe into Gaza aid shootings, Haaretz reports
JERUSALEM: Israel's Military Advocate General has ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid distribution sites, Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said. Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper, quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers as saying they were told to fire at the crowds to keep them back, using unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat. The military told Reuters that the Israel Defense Forces had not instructed soldiers to deliberately shoot at civilians. It added that it was looking to improve 'the operational response' in the aid areas and had recently installed new fencing and signs, and opened additional routes to reach the handout zones. Haaretz quoted unnamed sources as saying that the army unit established to review incidents that may involve breaches of international law had been tasked with examining soldiers' actions near aid locations over the past month. The military told Reuters that some incidents were being reviewed by relevant authorities. It added: 'Any allegation of a deviation from the law or IDF directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary.' There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year-old military campaign by Israel against Hamas militants in Gaza that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and displaced most of its two million inhabitants. Thousands of people gather around distribution centers desperately awaiting the next deliveries, but there have been near daily reports of shootings and killings on the approach routes. Medics said six people were killed by gunfire on Friday as they sought to get food in southern Gaza Strip. In all, more than 500 people have died near aid centers operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) or in areas where UN food trucks were set to pass since late May, the Gaza health authorities have said. The unnamed Israeli soldiers told Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at the crowds of Palestinians to disperse them and clear the area. During a closed-door meeting with senior Military Advocate General officials this week, legal representatives rejected IDF claims that the incidents were isolated cases, Haaretz reported. There has been widespread confusion about access to the aid, with the army imposing for a time a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on approach routes to GHF sites. But locals often have to set out well before dawn to have any chance of retrieving food. The Gaza war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into the enclave. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza. The Gaza health ministry said on Friday that at least 72 people were killed and more than 170 wounded by Israeli fire across Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Israeli soldiers ordered to fire on hungry Palestinians queuing for aid, say whistleblowers
Israeli soldiers have been deliberately firing at unarmed Palestinians near aid distribution sites in Gaza, army whistleblowers have said. First-hand accounts reported in Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, allege that commanders had in recent weeks ordered troops to shoot at crowds 'to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat'. Soldiers used 'heavy machine guns, grenade launchers [and] mortars' to suppress hungry Gazans queuing for food at new distribution points set up by a controversial private firm, it is claimed. It is also alleged that some soldiers took orders from a brigadier general who had previously stated that there were 'no innocents in Gaza'. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has routinely denied firing on civilians at the aid sites. Hamas has also been accused of firing on crowds and looting aid. But a senior Israeli military official confirmed to The Telegraph that Israel's military advocate general had ordered an investigation into the ' suspected war crimes '. It is the first time such testimony from serving soldiers has been published in Israel. Their claims were approved for publication by the official Israel censor, as required by Israeli law. The witness accounts relate to the alleged killing of scores of hungry Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in at least 19 separate incidents over the past month. Aid site 'a killing field' One soldier told Haaretz: 'It's a killing field. Where I was stationed, between one and five people were killed every day. 'They're treated like a hostile force – no crowd-control measures, no tear gas – just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars. Then, once the centre opens, the shooting stops, and they know they can approach. Our form of communication is gunfire.' The soldier added: 'We open fire early in the morning if someone tries to get in line from a few hundred meters away, and sometimes we just charge at them from close range. But there's no danger to the forces.' 'I'm not aware of a single instance of return fire. There's no enemy, no weapons,' they said. The aid distribution points at which the majority of the killings occurred are run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial joint venture set up by Israel and the US to bypass the UN, which Israel has accused of working with Hamas. It now operates four 'rapid distribution' sites in Gaza – three in southern Gaza and one in the centre. They are staffed by private US and Palestinian workers but secured by the IDF from a distance of several hundred meters and only open for an hour at a time – a tactic which attracts crowds of thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of people. An IDF officer told Haaretz that the military's security perimeters around distribution points included tanks, snipers and mortars, and they were designed to protect those present and ensure aid distribution could take place. 'At night, we open fire to signal to the population that this is a combat zone and they mustn't come near,' the officer said. 'Once, the mortars stopped firing, and we saw people starting to approach. So we resumed fire to make it clear they weren't allowed to. In the end, one of the shells landed on a group of people.' In other cases, he said: 'We fired machine guns from tanks and threw grenades. There was one incident where a group of civilians was hit while advancing under the cover of fog. It wasn't intentional, but these things happen.' 'There's no danger to Israeli forces' According to the officers and soldiers who spoke to Haaretz, the IDF fires at people who arrive before opening hours to prevent them from approaching, or again after the centres close, to disperse them. One soldier said: 'We open fire early in the morning if someone tries to get in line from a few hundred meters away, and sometimes we just charge at them from close range. But there's no danger to the forces.' A senior officer whose name 'repeatedly comes up in testimonies about the shootings near aid sites' is Brig Gen Yehuda Vach, commander of the IDF 's Division 252, reported Haaretz. He has previously attracted criticism in the Israeli media and was reported to have once told his troops: 'There are no innocents in Gaza'. Brig Gen Vach is also suspected of ordering the destruction of a hospital in Gaza without authorisation earlier this year, according to Israeli media. However, Haaraz added: 'Vach's division is not the only one operating in the area, and it's possible that other officers also gave orders to fire at people seeking aid.' Nir Hasson, an investigative journalist who researched and wrote the story, with colleagues Yaniv Kubovich and Bar Peleg, said that while the 'big majority' of Israelis still supported the war in Gaza, 'cracks in the mainstream consensus' were starting to appear. He said the soldiers and officers the newspaper had interviewed were motivated to speak partly for 'humanitarian' reasons but also because they feared that 'professionalism' and 'ethics' in parts of the IDF were breaking down. 'They say it goes against the values of the IDF and the state of Israel, and they will add that 'it is unbelievable that we are killing starving people who only want to get to the food,' Mr Hasson said. In a statement, the IDF denied its soldiers had been ordered to shoot at Palestinians but said it was investigating. A spokesman said: 'The IDF did not instruct the forces to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution centres. To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians.' They added that 'systematic learning processes aimed at improving the operational response in the area and minimising, as much as possible, potential friction between the civilian population and IDF forces' were taking place. The spokesman said the IDF was investigating the allegations further and 'any allegation of a deviation from the law or IDF directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary'.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
In Gaza, 'illusion of humanitarianism' is new phase in genocide
In Gaza, 'illusion of humanitarianism' is new phase in genocide Quotable Dr James Smith says Gaza's aid crisis is dire, with people killed daily at militarised distribution sites. Dr James Smith, an emergency physician, describes the aid situation in Gaza, where the Israeli military is killing people every day as they seek aid from US-backed distribution sites. Video Duration 01 minutes 11 seconds 01:11 Video Duration 00 minutes 44 seconds 00:44 Video Duration 01 minutes 17 seconds 01:17 Video Duration 01 minutes 06 seconds 01:06 Video Duration 01 minutes 28 seconds 01:28 Video Duration 01 minutes 48 seconds 01:48 Video Duration 00 minutes 50 seconds 00:50
