Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites, says 'lessons learned'
Photo:
AFP / Bashar Taleb
By
Howard Goller
,
Reuters
The Israeli military has acknowledged that Palestinian civilians were
harmed at aid distribution centres
in the Gaza Strip, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions following what it called "lessons learned".
Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on 19 May, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been
killed while seeking handouts of aid
.
"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," the Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement on Monday local time.
The statement said incidents in which Gaza civilians were harmed were under review.
It followed a Friday report in the newspaper Haaretz that Israel's Military Advocate General had ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near the sites.
The spokesperson had no immediate comment on a Times of Israel report on Monday, citing the military, that artillery shelling intended to deter Palestinians from approaching certain zones near aid distribution centres had been inaccurate in at least three instances, resulting in 30-40 casualties, including several fatalities.
Israel has repeatedly said its forces operate near the centres in order to prevent the aid from falling into the hands of Palestinian Hamas militants.
A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of people killed were trying to reach aid distribution sites of
the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of deliveries which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral.
Many Gazans say they have to walk for hours to reach the sites, meaning they must start travelling well before dawn if they are to stand any chance of receiving food.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that the US-backed aid operation in Gaza is "inherently unsafe", adding: "It is killing people".
Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the GHF, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarising aid and forcing displacement.
"Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarised zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people," Guterres told reporters.
Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel's Foreign Ministry said its military never targets civilians and accused the UN of "doing everything it can" to oppose the GHF aid operation.
"In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations," it posted on X.
A GHF spokesperson said on Friday there had been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites. Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the U.N.-led operations, which the Palestinian militants deny.
The Israeli military said on Monday it had taken actions to safeguard the aid distribution centres with fencing, directional and warning signs, and the addition of more access routes with barriers and checkpoints to regulate vehicle movement.
It said it had moved one distribution centre to reduce friction with the population and maintain the safety of troops on the ground.
The war erupted after Hamas-led militants in Gaza took 251 hostages and killed 1200 people, most of them civilians, in a 7 October 2023 attack, Israel's single deadliest day.
Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.
- Reuters
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