Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz emphatically rejected a report in the left-leaning Israeli daily Haaretz on Friday, which claimed Israeli soldiers were ordered to shoot at Palestinians approaching aid sites inside Gaza. They called the report’s findings “malicious falsehoods designed to defame” the military.
More than 500 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded while seeking food since the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing aid in the territory about a month ago, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, reports AP.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have opened fire at crowds on the roads heading toward the sites. Reacting to the Haaretz piece, Israel’s military confirmed that it was investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while approaching the sites. It rejected the article’s allegations “of deliberate fire toward civilians.”
The bodies of eight people who died Friday had come to Shifa Hospital from a GHF site in Netzarim, although it was not immediately clear how they died, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmyiha, the hospital’s director told AP. A GHF spokesperson challenged the report, saying they did not know of any incidents at or near their sites Friday.
Thousands of Palestinians walk for hours to reach the hubs, moving through Israeli military zones where witnesses say Israeli troops regularly open fire with heavy barrages to control the crowds. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots.
More than 6,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed on March 18. Since the war began, more than 56,000 people have been killed and 132,000 injured, according to the health ministry.
The United Nations chief meanwhile urged leaders to show “political courage” and agree to a ceasefire like the one forged between Israel and Iran.
Secretary-General António Guterres also urged a return to the UN’s long-tested distribution system for aid in Gaza, where he said Israeli military operations have created “a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions.”
“The search for food must never be a death sentence,” Guterres stressed to UN reporters Friday.