Israel's leaders slam a news report on a Gaza 'killing field' near food sites

A newspaper report published in Hebrew and English quoting Israeli soldiers saying commanders have ordered them to shoot at unarmed hungry crowds of people in Gaza trying to reach food distribution sites prompted a scathing response by Israel's prime minister on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement calling the Haaretz report "blood libel."

"These are malicious falsehoods designed to defame the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], the most moral military in the world," they added.

Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 500 people have been killed and more than 4,000 wounded by Israeli forces while seeking food aid in the past month.

The Haaretz report quotes multiple anonymous Israeli soldiers describing what they say are the military's attacks on people trying to get food aid in Gaza since May 27. The soldiers say they were ordered by commanders to fire at unarmed civilians who were approaching food distribution sites during off hours, even when the crowds posed no threat.

One soldier quoted in Haaretz says the army fires machine guns, grenade launchers and mortars at crowds — who pose no threat — while waiting for the distribution sites to open. The distribution sites are manned by U.S. contractors inside, in areas under Israeli military control. The soldier says there are no crowd-control measures, only gunfire being shot at crowds near these sites.

The soldier says it's akin to a lethal version of the children's game "red light, green light," and calls it a "killing field."

This is in reference to the following article published by Haaretz: 'It's a Killing Field': IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid

The joint statement by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz was posted on Twitter by Amit Segal. Quote:

The State of Israel firmly rejects the vile blood libel published in Haaretz, which claimed that IDF soldiers were ordered to shoot unarmed Gazans while they were collecting aid from distribution centers.

These are malicious lies intended to defame the IDF — the most moral army in the world.

The IDF operates under extremely difficult conditions against a terrorist enemy that embeds itself within a civilian population, using it as a human shield, while conducting a widespread campaign of lies aimed at delegitimizing the State of Israel.

IDF soldiers receive clear orders to avoid harming innocent civilians — and they act accordingly.

Israel calls on all free democratic nations to stand by its side in its just and moral struggle against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas.

End quote.

Of course, there are some rather odd omissions from this joint statement:

- A denial that shots were fired;
- A denial that the shots were fired by the IDF;
- A denial that the shots killed anyone;
- An admission that people were killed, but coupled with a claim that the shootings were justified (due to self-defense or what have you).

We'll see what comes of this.

“IDF soldiers receive clear orders to avoid harming innocent civilians — and they act accordingly.”

Let’s have some photos, footage. Let’s have a list of the dead and wounded, including age, gender and whether or not combatant. Let’s have death certificates signed by physicians.

Haaretz is the Israeli equivalent of the NY Times.

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