IDF rejected claims of violence against civilians at Gaza aid distribution site made by a US veteran and ex-GHF worker in a BBC interview.
The IDF denied the claim of former US Green Beret, Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Aguilar, who stated that he witnessed the military firing at civilians at aid distribution sites in Gaza during an interview with the BBC on Saturday.
The IDF has also denied similar claims over the past few months, saying that it does not fire indiscriminately at civilians, nor does it operate within the distribution sites.
Over the past few months, dozens of allegations of the deliberate shooting of civilians by the IDF have been raised by international media.
“I witnessed the IDF firing into a crowd of Palestinians,” Aguilar said. “I witnessed the IDF firing a main gun tank round from the Merkava tank into a crowd of people, destroying a car of civilians that were simply driving away from the site.”
When asked for his professional opinion on the situation, he said: “In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against an unarmed, starving civilian population – until I was in Gaza at the hands of the IDF and US contractors.”
Anthony Aguilar on BBC (credit: Screenshot/YouTube)
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has called the allegations made by Aguilar “categorially false” and said he was a “disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct,” which he has denied, according to the BBC’s report.
The IDF’s ‘continuous learning process’
Following incidents in which harm to civilians was reported, thorough examinations were conducted, and “instructions were issued to forces in the field following the lessons learned,” the IDF said, adding that “the aforementioned incidents are under review.”
In response to Agulair’s claims of the IDF firing at civilians for crowd control, the IDF stated that it has not shot at civilians to control gatherings, but rather, has fired at those who “deviate from the approved routes and pose a threat to the forces” in order to disperse them.
In numerous incidents, the IDF has confirmed that it has fired “warning shots” at people who deviate from said routes, but these were outside of the area of the distribution sites.
In his most benign assessment of the situation, Auiglar called the site and its operation “inexperienced, untrained,” and said that the IDF has “no idea of how to conduct operations of this magnitude.”
As part of the IDF’s continuous learning process to improve operational conduct and minimize friction between its forces and Gazan civilians at the aid distribution sites, it stated in response that it has added new fences, installed signage, and established additional routes.
“Without question, I witnessed war crimes being committed by the IDF,” Augilar concluded.