By Emanuel Fabian

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27 June 2025, 6:04 pm

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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Following a Haaretz report revealing that Israeli troops are using deadly fire on hungry aid-seeking Gazans, the IDF confirms that its high-level General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism is probing the matter.

However, the IDF denies that troops are being ordered by commanders to deliberately open fire on Palestinian aid seekers.

Over the past month, though, the IDF has repeatedly acknowledged firing warning shots that struck Palestinians who it claimed had strayed off pre-approved access roads to distribution sites or used them when they are supposed to be closed. While not providing figures of its own, the IDF has also claimed that Hamas is inflating the death counts in these mass casualty incidents.

In a statement, the military asserts that it is “operating to allow and facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid by the American Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and to secure the routes leading to the distribution centers, to allow the aid to reach the civilians rather than Hamas.”

“These efforts are taking place alongside the IDF’s ongoing operational activities throughout the Gaza Strip,” the statement says.

“We strongly reject the accusation raised in the article. The IDF did not instruct the forces to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution centers. To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians,” the military claims.

The Hamas-run health ministry says 549 people have been killed and 4,000 have been wounded trying to pick up aid from GHF sites or while waiting for UN food trucks since May 27, when GHF launched.

“In light of recent reports of incidents of harm to the civilians approaching the distribution centers, the incidents are being examined by the relevant IDF authorities,” the military says, confirming Haaretz’s report that the Military Advocate General directed the top-tier General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism to investigate.

“Any allegation of a deviation from the law or IDF directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary,” the statement continues.

“The allegations of deliberate fire toward civilians presented in the article are not recognized in the field,” the IDF asserts.

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