Soldiers in the Israeli military have told the Israeli news outlet Haaretz that aid distribution centres in Gaza have become ‘a killing field’, with military leadership ordering soldiers to fire on unarmed Palestinians.
Soldiers and officers in the Israeli Defence Forces who spoke to Haaretz paint a bleak picture of the scene, indicating the killings are the result of IDF policies targeting civilians in violation of international law.
“Where I was stationed, between one and five people were killed every day,” one soldier said. “They’re treated like a hostile force – no crowd-control measures, no tear gas – just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars.
“Then, once the centre opens, the shooting stops, and they know they can approach. Our form of communication is gunfire.”
The same soldier called the scene ‘a killing field’, adding that he was “not aware of a single instance of return fire. There’s no enemy, no weapons.”
Another enlisted officer acting as security for a GHF aid centre said that “it’s neither ethically nor morally acceptable for people to have to reach, or fail to reach, a (humanitarian zone) under tank fire, snipers and mortar shells.”
Under Israel’s blockade against humanitarian aid, Palestinians in Gaza have been living in rubble under near famine conditions. Despite the creation of the GHF, the United Nations issued a report earlier this month indicating that its operations were insufficient, and it was imperative for an ‘unlimited and unfettered supply of aid to enter’ Gaza.
Another soldier, a tank operator, told the publication that while technically tank fire was supposed to be used as a warning, “firing shells have just become standard practice. Every time we fire, there are casualties and deaths, and when someone asks why a shell is necessary, there’s never a good answer. Sometimes, merely asking the question annoys the commanders.”
One source who spoke to Haaretz indicated that the militarised aid operation in his region of Gaza has a name: Operation Salted Fish. ‘Salted Fish’ is a reference to an Israeli children’s game similar to red light, green light.
“You know it’s not right. You feel it’s not right – that the commanders here are taking the law into their own hands,” one soldier said. “But Gaza is a parallel universe. You move on quickly. The truth is, most people don’t even stop to think about it.”
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