The Israeli military was behind a deadly shooting of civilians seeking aid near Rafah, Gaza, on Sunday, a CNN investigation found.
More than a dozen eyewitnesses, including those wounded in the attack, said Israeli troops shot at crowds in volleys of gunfire that occurred sporadically through the early hours of Sunday morning, the investigation said. Multiple videos geolocated by CNN placed the gunfire near a roundabout where hundreds of Palestinians had gathered about half a mile (800 meters) away from the militarised aid site.
The Israeli military has denied its troops had fired on civilians in or around the centre, and both it and the aid centre’s administrator accused Hamas of sowing false rumours.
The Times of Israel said a separate report by Haaretz also confirmed eyewitness accounts and video pointing to Israel having carried out the shooting. The outlet quotes an unnamed military official saying that senior officers opened fire to direct the Palestinians toward the aid site.
“The intention was to direct the population via fire,” the officer is quoted as saying.
“The army treated this like a regular situation of suspects entering a combat zone, but it’s impossible to direct a population at scales this large with fire if you want them to feel safe getting to areas you have opened.”
