ANKARA 

Israeli soldiers deployed in the Gaza Strip have been ordered to open fire on unarmed Palestinian civilians waiting for humanitarian aid, even when no threat was present, according to a detailed investigation published by Haaretz on Friday.

According to the Israeli daily, conversations with soldiers indicate that “commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat.”

“It’s a killing field,” one soldier told Haaretz. He said that in his position, “between one and five people were killed every day” by live fire instead of taking non-lethal measures for crowd control.

The revelations followed reports from Gaza’s Health Ministry stating that at least 549 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,000 wounded near aid centers and UN food truck locations since May 27.

The food sites in question are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an aid initiative reportedly coordinated by Israeli authorities, American evangelical groups, and private security contractors, according to reports.

An Israeli reservist told Haaretz that “Gaza doesn’t interest anyone anymore,” describing the zone as a lawless space where “the loss of human life means nothing.”

A senior reserve officer also told Haaretz: “When we asked why they opened fire, we were told it was an order from above … I can say with certainty that the people were not close to the forces and did not endanger them. It was pointless, they were just killed, for nothing.”

He added: “This thing called killing innocent people, it's been normalized.”

According to the report, the army’s “deterrence procedure” includes using mortars, machine guns, and live fire from tanks, even before aid sites open or long after they are closed.

In some incidents, “warning shots” turned into lethal strikes. One soldier recalled being ordered to fire a shell into a crowd near the coastline.

“Every time we fire, there are casualties and deaths,” he said. “And when someone asks why a shell is necessary, there's never a good answer.”

The soldiers' testimonies also revealed the informal name for their operation in these zones: “Operation Salted Fish,” an Israeli twist on the children’s game “Red Light, Green Light,” according to Haaretz.

The daily also reported that the army’s Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism has been instructed to investigate possible war crimes related to these incidents. Still, officers who spoke with Haaretz suggested little is being done to halt or examine the practice on the ground.

One legal source told Haaretz: “This isn't about a few people being killed, we're talking about dozens of casualties every day.”

Among the units under scrutiny is Division 252, commanded by Brig. Gen. Yehuda Vach, who, according to Haaretz, issued direct orders to fire at civilians gathered near UN aid trucks.

Soldiers serving under his command said the policy was widely accepted without question. “The idea is to make sure they clear out, even if they're just there for food,” one officer said.

Demolition-for-profit schemes

Contractors working near these zones, often with minimal oversight, have further complicated the situation. One soldier told Haaretz that “any private contractor working in Gaza with engineering equipment receives 5,000 shekels (around $1,500) for every house they demolish.”

"From their perspective, any moment where they don't demolish houses is a loss of money, and the forces have to secure their work,” he added.

He further described the contractors as acting "like a kind of sheriff," demolishing properties "wherever they want along the entire front."

This demolition campaign, he noted, often brings contractors and their relatively small security details dangerously close to food distribution points and the routes used by aid trucks.

To safeguard themselves, "a shooting incident breaks out, and people are killed," he said.

"These are areas where Palestinians are allowed to be, we're the ones who moved closer and decided (they) endangered us,” noted the soldier.

“So, for a contractor to make another 5,000 shekels and take down a house, it's deemed acceptable to kill people who are only looking for food,” he added.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 56,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.