This comes after the United Nations confirmed that more than 400 Palestinians were killed while trying to access food since May 19. That was when the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started operations.
In a statement Monday, the Israeli army said, “Following incidents in which civilians were injured at aid facilities, investigations were conducted in the Southern Command and new instructions were issued to troops.” The army added that the incidents are still under review.
A senior UN official said most of the victims were heading to aid distribution points run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The organization began food parcel distribution in late May under a new model that the UN has described as “not neutral.”
Many Gaza residents say they walk for hours in the dark just to reach the sites. With no transportation and minimal food, they must move before dawn to have any chance of receiving aid.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the US-supported aid system “inherently unsafe.” He said on Friday, “It is killing people.”
Washington and Tel Aviv want the UN to work through GHF. But the UN has refused, citing concerns over the group’s lack of neutrality and the militarization of the aid process, which forces desperate Palestinians to flee their homes to survive.
A Haaretz investigation published last week added to the outrage. It revealed that Israeli commanders gave direct orders to shoot hungry, unarmed civilians near the so-called food distribution sites.
“They shoot as if the crowd is an attacking force,” one Israeli soldier told Haaretz. “No tear gas, no warnings, just bullets, mortars, and grenades.”
Soldiers confessed that starvation is being used as a military tactic to control Gaza’s population. One commander described the killing operation at GHF sites as “Salty Fish,” a disturbing reference to a children’s game.
The revelations have sparked international condemnation. Rights groups say these actions constitute war crimes.
