The Israel Defense Forces shared an audio recording on Thursday of a Gazan accusing Hamas terrorists of opening fire on Palestinian civilians seeking to collect humanitarian aid in the southernmost city of Rafah.
“I swear to you—no, it’s a lie, nothing happened,” the anonymous Arab said in conversation with an employee of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit, responding to claims the IDF killed dozens of Palestinians in Rafah.
“There were injured people, yes, maybe seven, eight dead,” according to the Palestinian source. “The army responded after mortars were fired at it, but the people who fired were Hamas terrorists. They don’t want the people to receive aid and want to foil the plan. They live off theft.”
The source told COGAT that he sent the Israeli military “a photo of the young man who was blamed for shooting” at the Palestinian civilians.
Pressed by COGAT about the claim Hamas opened fire, he responded, “Yes, of course, this is not the first time. They want to foil the plan so the aid will go to them, allowing them to steal it. They live off the aid. Deals, sales, money, food and drink, all for their own men and Hamas leaders.”
The Palestinian stressed that Hamas “has gone completely bankrupt.” The terrorist group wants “aid to come in through the United Nations and international organizations so they can steal it,” he also claimed.
“I swear to you, they’re criminals, truly criminals like ISIS. I swear to God, they’re human beasts. Not humans. Not humans at all,” he said, adding: “They have no compassion whatsoever for their own people.”
An Israeli government spokesperson on Tuesday denied reports that the IDF had fired on civilians near the aid distribution center the day before.
“Let’s be clear: Israel is not preventing Gazans from accessing humanitarian aid, and the IDF did not fire at civilians in or near aid distribution zones,” said David Mencer during a press briefing for international reporters held by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The government spokesman was responding to claims from Gaza that Israeli troops had killed 27 people near an aid distribution point in the Rafah area. Shortly after the incident, the IDF said it had only fired at a few individuals who had approached Israeli forces in the area.
“The IDF is doing everything in its power to allow Gazans to get to the humanitarian aid. The IDF is not preventing the arrival of Gazans at humanitarian aid sites. Indeed, we are encouraging it,” Mencer said.
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen Effie Defrin said the incident was part of how “Hamas is actively trying to prevent them [Gazans] from receiving the aid. We operate nearby and do whatever is necessary to ensure that the aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas,” he stated on Tuesday.
Gazans are “coming to the distribution centers to receive the aid. The civilian population of Gaza understands that Hamas is not taking care of them,” he added.
The aid sites in the Strip are being operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation group, which began operations on May 27. The facilities are secured by U.S. military contractors and remotely monitored by the IDF.