WATCH: Gazans cheer while safely receiving humanitarian aid, disputing massacre claims - Liran Aharoni

 

by Liran Aharoni

“Not a single bullet was fired,” Adraee wrote, “The civilians began welcoming and cheering for our soldiers, as if they saw in them life after darkness.”

 

Palestinians approach to collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025.

(photo credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

 

IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee shared footage of Gazans cheering as they safely receive humanitarian aid, with IDF soldiers watching from a distance on Sunday.

In the video, the soldiers were ordered not to shoot, and the Gazans can be seen cheering at the soldiers as they receive food.

#خاص هكذا سقطت جميع أكاذيب حماس
في مشهد يهزّ القلب من ظهر اليوم،
جنود جيش الدفاع يقفون بثبات…
وعلى بُعد أمتار – اعداد من سكان غزة يتسلمون المساعدات الإنسانية التي دخلت قطاع غزة.

لم تُطلق رصاصة.
القرار كان واضحًا: لا تطلقوا النار
اما ردة فعل الفلسطينيين؟ لم تكن خوفًا… بل… pic.twitter.com/HQQPK7t0Tw

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) July 20, 2025

“Not a single bullet was fired,” Adraee wrote, “The civilians began welcoming and cheering for our soldiers, as if they saw in them life after darkness.”

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry later said that 73 people were killed on Sunday while trying to reach aid at a number of locations throughout the enclave. Most of the fatalities – 67 – occurred in the north, near the Zikim crossing, according to the ministry, which added that local hospitals treated more than 150 wounded, many in serious condition.

Palestinians from clans hold guns and melee weapons to secure aid trucks in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 25, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

Eyewitnesses quoted by The Associated Press said soldiers had opened fire. The IDF confirmed that its forces had fired “toward a gathering” of thousands of Palestinians who posed a danger to the forces," acknowledged casualties, and insisted that the true toll was lower than the ministry’s figure. The army said the chaos was the responsibility of Hamas.

Previous reports of alleged killings near aid sites

Similar accusations surface regularly. Roughly two weeks ago, Gaza-based outlets claimed that the IDF killed 27 people and wounded 180 near an aid-distribution point north of Rafah. The army said an investigation “found no evidence of casualties from IDF fire” at that site.

Earlier this month, two American aid workers were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba after being wounded by grenade shrapnel while delivering supplies. Field assessments indicated that Hamas gunmen threw the grenade.

On July 1, 130 international relief organizations – including Oxfam and Amnesty International – issued a statement demanding the closure of the US- and Israeli-financed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, charging that it “violates every rule of humanitarian assistance” and endangers civilians.

The groups say more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and about 4,000 wounded since the fund began operating in May, and that Israeli soldiers and other armed actors “routinely” shoot at people near distribution sites. Jerusalem denies targeting civilians and says the fund bypasses Hamas’s control over aid.

The IDF also said that it would redesign distribution procedures, erect fencing, and post additional signage to prevent crowds from surging around trucks.

Liran Aharoni

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-861697

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