IOF troops admit to killing starving Palestinians: Israeli media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
27 Jun 2025 14:25
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In horrifying testimonies to Haaretz, Israeli soldiers confess to killing Palestinians at aid centers despite knowing they did not pose a threat.

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Palestinian children mourn over the body of their father, Mohammed Ghaben, who was killed while heading to an aid distribution hub, at the morgue of the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP)

Israeli occupation soldiers and officers have admitted to deliberately opening fire on unarmed Palestinians near humanitarian aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, turning humanitarian sites into scenes of mass killings carried out under direct military orders.

Haaretz reported the harrowing confessions on Friday, in which several Israeli officers and soldiers confirmed they had received orders to shoot Palestinians approaching aid centers in Gaza.

Testimonies revealed that direct orders were given from commanders to troops to open fire near distribution points to push starving Palestinians away, regardless of whether the individuals posed a threat or not.

"It's a killing field," one soldier said, adding that Israeli occupation forces do not implement any form of control measure when Palestinians approach aid sites, but rather communicate through gunfire, often using any lethal weapon at hand: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars.

"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," the soldier's testimony noted, emphasizing, "I'm not aware of a single instance of return fire. There's no enemy, no weapons."

Most horrifying was the nonchalance the IOF exhibited, with soldiers admitting to Haaretz that aid centers, operating under the problematic Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, have prevented the collapse of international legitimacy to resuming the genocide in Gaza.

One reservist said, "Gaza doesn't interest anyone anymore. It's become a place with its own set of rules. The loss of human life means nothing. It's not even an 'unfortunate incident,' like they used to say."

I went twice to receive the so-called American aid, and what I saw was far worse than what is shown in the media.
We will not forget.
We will not forgive. pic.twitter.com/yQz0npmNez
— Ahmed Ashour Gaza 𓂆 (@AhmedAAshour8) June 18, 2025

Weaponization of food in Gaza constitutes war crime: UN

According to the UN and Gaza’s Health Ministry, 549 people have been killed and more than 4,066 have been injured while trying to access food aid as of June 25. With Gaza’s death toll surpassing 56,000, aid deliveries remain dangerously obstructed. The collapse of water systems now threatens widespread drought and famine.

The UN human rights office also warned on Tuesday that the weaponization of food distribution in Gaza could amount to a war crime. The statement comes amid growing international criticism of the new aid distribution model operated by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan described the current system as "Israel’s militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism," stressing its deadly consequences for civilians in desperate need of relief.

Restricting or obstructing access to life-saving aid not only puts civilian lives at risk but may also represent serious violations of international law, al-Kheetan noted, saying "the weaponization of food against civilians constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may amount to other crimes under international law."