The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday evening released footage showing hundreds of Gazan civilians looting an aid truck within close proximity to Israeli troops, who had been instructed to exercise restraint and refrain from opening fire.
Commenting on the footage, IDF International Spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said, “Today, many civilians advance toward the soldiers. The only order given to our troops is: do not engage, do not shoot.
“When you look past the headlines and Hamas’ lies, the truth is clear: Israel is not at war with the people of Gaza,” he added.
In the footage, an IDF commander is heard instructing his troops: “Don’t be alarmed. Do not engage. No one shoots in their direction.” Throughout the 43-second clip, he repeatedly emphasizes, “No one shoots.”
When you look past the headlines and Hamas’ lies, the truth is clear:
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) July 20, 2025
Israel is not at war with the people of Gaza.
Today, many civilians advance toward the soldiers, the only order given to our troops is: do not engage, do not shoot.
Watch the encounter: pic.twitter.com/C6dK4Asp8L
At the end of the video, the Palestinians are seen clapping and whistling toward the Israeli troops, according to Avichay Adraee, head of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit’s Arab Media Branch, who noted the moment in a separate social media post.
“The reaction of the Palestinians? It wasn’t fear … it was hope. Civilians began to welcome and cheer for our soldiers, as if they saw in them life after darkness,” Adraee wrote. “Anyone who has lived under Hamas’s lies knows that our soldiers and our presence are a source of hope.”
“No starvation, no deliberate killing and no intentional targeting of aid recipients,” Adraee continued, adding: “There is Hamas propaganda with empty media mouthpieces spreading lies in an effort to salvage what remains of the defeated Hamas.”
Earlier on Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claimed that approximately 80 Palestinians were killed by IDF troops while attempting to collect humanitarian aid in the northern part of the Strip.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated that while soldiers had fired warning shots to “remove an immediate threat” posed by the large crowd of Palestinians approaching them, “an initial review suggests that the number of casualties reported does not align with the information held by the IDF.”
Jerusalem added that “the IDF views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community.”
Israel and the United States in May installed a new organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, to handle food aid deliveries so that it directly reaches Palestinians civilians and bypasses Hamas terrorists.
“Inaccurate reporting has again falsely stated that those seeking aid were killed near GHF’s distribution sites,” the NGO stated on Sunday. “This is blatantly false and inconsistent with what GHF workers are seeing on the ground.
“The false reporting, perpetuated by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, is part of a larger pattern of Hamas trying to undermine and ultimately end GHF,” the group added. “It is no coincidence that this incident occurred during ceasefire negotiations, where Hamas continues to demand that GHF cease operations.”
The GHF reported that it distributed nearly 32,000 food packages at two locations on Sunday, bringing the total number of meals provided since operations began to approximately 82 million.
