The chief prosecutor of the Israeli army has ordered an investigation of possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately opened fire on Palestinian civilians near humanitarian aid distribution centers in Gaza, Israeli media reported on Friday.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month near areas where food was being distributed, local hospitals and officials said.
Unnamed Israeli soldiers told reporters they were ordered to open fire on crowds of people to prevent them from approaching and to use lethal force against individuals who did not appear to pose a threat.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
A military spokesperson told Israeli media that the army is trying to minimize tensions between the local population and Israeli forces, adding that after reports of civilian casualties, the army conducted investigations and issued new instructions to ground forces.
Sources also said that a military unit established to investigate incidents potentially involving violations of international law has been tasked with examining the conduct of soldiers near aid distribution centers over the past month.
Gaza is suffering from an acute shortage of food and other basic necessities after nearly two years of the Israeli military campaign against Hamas, which has destroyed most of the coastal enclave and displaced many of its two million residents.
Thousands of people gather around distribution centers desperately awaiting new shipments, but there are almost daily reports of shootings and killings on the access roads. Medics said that six people were killed by gunfire on Friday while trying to get food in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Since the end of May, more than 500 people have been killed near centers operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by the United States (U.S.), or in areas where United Nations (UN) food trucks were supposed to pass, according to health authorities in Gaza.
Responding to questions about earlier incidents, the Israeli army has often said that soldiers fired shots over people’s heads to force them to move away. The army has also said it is investigating various cases but has not yet published the findings.
Unnamed Israeli soldiers told Israeli media that military commanders ordered soldiers to fire on crowds of Palestinians to disperse them and clear the area.
During a closed-door meeting with senior officials of the chief prosecutor, legal representatives reportedly rejected the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims that the incidents were isolated cases.
The army imposed a curfew on the access roads to GHF centers from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., which has led to confusion about access to aid. However, local residents often have to set out well before dawn to have any chance of getting food.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas carried out a surprise attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, in which nearly 1.200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and 251 people were kidnapped and taken to the enclave.
Israel then launched a military campaign in which over 56.000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, according to local health authorities in Gaza.
The Gaza Ministry of Health announced on Friday that at least 72 people were killed and over 170 wounded in Israeli gunfire across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
