The article in Haaretz claimed, with testimony from soldiers, that Israel's military ordered to shoot at Palestinians approaching humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza. According to Netanyahu and Katz, the article contains "malicious falsehoods designed to slander the military”.
The Ministry of Health in Hamas-ruled Gaza reports that more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured when they tried to collect food at the four controversial aid distribution points that the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has operated for a month. Palestinian witnesses say that soldiers often shoot at crowds. The Israeli military confirms that it is investigating incidents but denies that soldiers deliberately shot at civilians.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Israel to return to the UN aid system and said that "searching for food must never become a death sentence". Doctors Without Borders calls the GHF distribution "a massacre masquerading as humanitarian aid”.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire in March, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Gaza. In total, over 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health, which reports that more than half of the dead are women and children. Israel says it is only targeting Hamas fighters.
