Israeli military orders war crime probe into Gaza shootings

Israel's Military Advocate General has ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid distribution sites, Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said.

Haaretz quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers as saying they were told to fire at the crowds to keep them back, using unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat.

The military told Reuters that the Israeli military had not instructed soldiers to deliberately shoot at civilians.

It added that it was looking to improve "the operational response" in the aid areas and had recently installed new fencing and signs, and opened additional routes to reach the handout zones.

Haaretz quoted unnamed sources as saying that the army unit established to review incidents that may involve breaches of international law had been tasked with examining soldiers' actions near aid locations over the past month.

The military told Reuters that some incidents were being reviewed by relevant authorities.

It added: "Any allegation of a deviation from the law or [Israeli army] directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary."

There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year-old military campaign by Israel in Gaza that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and displaced most of its two million inhabitants.

Thousands of people gather around distribution centres desperately awaiting the next deliveries, but there have been near daily reports of shootings and killings on the approach routes.

Medics said six people were killed by gunfire on Friday as they sought to get food in southern Gaza Strip.

In all, more than 500 people have died near aid centres operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) or in areas where UN food trucks were set to pass since late May, the Gaza health authorities have said.

The unnamed Israeli soldiers told Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at the crowds of Palestinians to disperse them and clear the area.

During a closed-door meeting with senior Military Advocate General officials this week, legal representatives rejected Israeli military claims that the incidents were isolated cases, Haaretz reported.

There has been widespread confusion about access to the aid, with the army imposing for a time a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on approach routes to GHF sites. But locals often have to set out well before dawn to have any chance of retrieving food.

Israel's indiscriminate war on Gaza has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

The Gaza health ministry said on Friday that at least 72 people were killed and more than 170 wounded by Israeli fire across Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.