Israeli soldiers speaking with Haaretz say they received orders to fire on desperate Palestinians attempting to reach aid distribution sites in Gaza, corresponding to eyewitness accounts reported by Palestinians and others.
“Israeli soldiers in Gaza told Haaretz that the army has deliberately fired at Palestinians near aid distribution sites,” the outlet explains. Conversations with officers and soldiers reveal that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat.
AntiWar.com reports “Over 550 Palestinians have been killed trying to get aid in the past month.” Over the weekend, 84 Palestinians were killed in a 24-hour period.
One soldier explained to Haaretz, “It’s a killing field.” They added that the Israeli soldiers fired at the Palestinians even though the aid-seekers did not present a threat. An officer told the outlet, “It’s neither ethically nor morally acceptable for people to have to reach, or fail to reach, a [humanitarian zone] under tank fire, snipers and mortar shells.”
A doctor in Gaza speaking to NBC News about the aid sites in Gaza said, “It’s a death trap, it’s a slaughterhouse.” They report receiving dozens of patients daily who were wounded near the aid sites.
Meanwhile, in New York City, a group of U.S. Veterans and Allies have been fasting for 40 days.
The “Veterans & Allies Fast for Gaza” began May 22 “when six members of Veterans For Peace and allies traveled to New York City to stand at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. It has grown to over 800 people across the country and includes small groups in South Africa, Canada, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong and Australia. Friends of Sabeel, NA has added critical behind-the-scenes support.” Fasters at the U.N. have limited themselves to “250 calories per day, considered medically to be a starvation diet and the amount reported early this year as the average available” to Palestinians in Gaza.
The group said today: “We did what we came to do. We made many thousands of people focus on the starvation and murder politicians are funding in Palestine with our money. …
“Our slogan has been ‘40 Days and Escalate.’ That time has come,” they added. “Our demands of full humanitarian aid to Gaza under U.N. authority and no more weapons to Israel have not been met.”
The group will hold a news conference Friday, June 30, 10:00 a.m. (E.T.) in front of U.S. Mission, 1st Ave.
Some organizers will be conducting other actions in New York City.
Some will join Interfaith Action for Palestine’s “two-day mobilization to counter the annual conference of Christians United for Israel, and confront U.S. lawmakers who support its pro-war agenda: applauding the genocide in Gaza; destruction in the West Bank; and bombing Iran.”
Contact: Mike Ferner, [email protected]; Joy Metzler, [email protected]; Erin Kiley; Rev. Addie Domske. Profiles of many of the fasters available here.