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Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-864268
IDF Reservist Describes Scene at GHF Aid Site in Gaza
(Jerusalem Post) Michael Starr - The truth about Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites has been grossly distorted. During of recent tour in Gaza as an infantry reservist, I was tasked with helping to secure the area around a safe distribution site (SDS) in southern Gaza. I did not see mass starvation in Gaza. Of the tens of thousands of civilians, there was no one close to the emaciated state of hostage Evyatar David. With the contracting of the GHF, the IDF sought to prevent a severe humanitarian situation for civilians while avoiding resupplying Hamas through compromised aid organizations. Part of Hamas's control over the population was through its near monopoly over food and other humanitarian aid. The area around SDS sites is still enemy territory, and there are still enemy forces without uniforms concealed among civilians, seeking to kill IDF soldiers. At the site where I was, aid seekers were supposed to leave vehicles beyond a security barrier that also served as a marker for what not to cross when the zone and aid site were closed. Fences, barbed wire, and warning signs were placed to prevent civilians from entering military zones. Once the GHF site opened, a daily deluge of tens of thousands attempted to enter the site and grab aid. The Gazans at times overran and tore down the forward barriers. I never once saw anything resembling a line or queue. Live-fire warning shots were only employed on the extremely rare occasion that Gazans in the aid site yard deviated toward the closed military zone that was out of their way. While it's impossible not to feel sympathy for people who have to gather food in such a manner, Palestinian aid seekers are constantly seeking to overrun the compound. Desperation was not the only driving factor. War profiteering and criminality are also driving forces. Trades and sales were being made in the SDS courtyard. Brawls over aid were not uncommon, and larger men could be seen waiting on the periphery, not joining the rush with the others. Shots were almost exclusively warning shots fired at sand dunes. It was emphasized repeatedly to our unit that we did not want to kill any civilians, which would be counterproductive to the mission. Our experience is in stark contrast to the idea that the IDF was deliberately shooting aid seekers. When these warning shots ceased to be employed for a time, pending a review, the aid sites were overrun several times and GHF personnel were injured. The chaos was only rolled back by the resumption of warning shots by designated marksmen and snipers. The writer is the Diaspora Affairs correspondent for the Jerusalem Post.