The IDF said Friday afternoon it strongly rejects the accusations raised in the Haaretz report that IDF officials ordered soldiers to shoot at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid distribution sites.
"We strongly reject the accusation raised in the article - the IDF did not instruct the forces to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution centers," the military said.
"To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians," the military added.
The IDF added that the soldiers in the Haaretz report "are not recognized in the field."
The left-wing newspaper quoted a soldier as saying, "Where I was stationed, between one and five people were killed every day," and described the alleged incidents as "a killing field.
"They're treated like a hostile force – no crowd-control measures, no tear gas – just live fire with everything imaginable."
Israel's Military Advocate General ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid distribution sites, the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper reported earlier.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned the report, claiming that the newspaper pushed "blood libel," and that "they are vicious lies designed to discredit the IDF, the most moral army in the world.
"The IDF is operating under difficult conditions against a terrorist enemy that operates from within the civilian population and hides behind them as human shields, and operates an entire industry of lies to undermine the legitimacy of the State of Israel," they added. "Soldiers receive clear orders to avoid harming innocent civilians."
Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) told The Jerusalem Post, “To date, there have been no incidents or fatalities at or in the immediate vicinity of any of our distribution sites. However, IDF 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.”
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, Hamas-run local hospitals have said.
Haaretz quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers as saying they were told to fire at the crowds to keep them back and use unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat.
Haaretz quoted a military spokesperson as saying that the army was trying to minimize potential friction between the population and Israeli forces, adding that following reports of civilian harm, the army had conducted investigations and given new instructions to ground forces.
Haaretz also 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 distribution locations over the past month.
There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year-long military campaign by Israel against Hamas terrorists in Gaza that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and displaced most of its two million inhabitants.
Awaiting the next delivery of aid
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.
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.
In response to questions about previous incidents, the IDF often said troops had fired warning shots over the heads of people to get them to move. It has also said it is reviewing various cases. It has yet to publish its findings.
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.
The GHF said they have distributed over 25 thousand boxes of aid in three separate distribution sites. "Through the hard work of the GHF team and the cooperation of our partners on the ground, we were able to deliver nearly two million meals today," the organization's executive director, John Acree, said.
"We remain hopeful that other humanitarian organizations are able to resume their full distribution efforts in the area soon."
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.