An explosive expose by Haaretz featured testimonies from IDF soldiers and officers that they were ordered to use live fire to disperse thousands of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza who had crowded the handful of stations set up to distribute humanitarian aid.

The story grabbed international attention, and sparked fury among top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who both called the article a “blood libel.”

On the Haaretz Podcast, one of the three journalists who wrote the story, Nir Hasson, takes listeners behind the scenes of his reporting, explaining the reasons soldiers decided to speak to him and his fellow journalists.

The soldiers’ motivations, he said, were two-fold. First the “moral issue” of being put in the position to use deadly force to stop “hungry people trying to get some food for their family” bothered them.  

“The second thing they spoke about was the fact that this was not the IDF that they used to know. These were not values of the army that these reservists used to serve in,” Hasson added. “They told me, this is not the way a professional army deals with a civil population. They were very angry at their commanders for telling them to use this kind of tool to control a crowd,” and even refused to employ non-lethal methods like tear gas. 

Also appearing on the podcast: Haaretz columnist Amir Tibon, who pointed out that the formation of these distribution centers appeared to be aimed at creating such intolerable conditions that Gazans seek to leave, while "doing nothing" to serve Israel's proclaimed war goals – returning the hostages and ridding Gaza of Hamas.

The current operation, Tibon said, “is not serving real security interests of Israel, is not helping us get back the hostages, and it is part of a dangerous fantasy that is leading us into a ‘forever war’ in Gaza.”

Read more:

'It's a Killing Field': IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid

Israeli Army Says 'Lessons Learned' From Army Fire Incidents on Gaza Aid-Seekers After Haaretz Exposé

A Fatal Failure: Israel's Gaza Aid Policy Leaves Dozens Killed Daily as They Seek Food

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