Dozens of Palestinian civilians have been killed across the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire took effect on Friday.
GAZA — Israeli forces have violated the ceasefire agreement by shooting and killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza for “crossing a line they don’t even know exists”.
Breaking the Silence, a rights group formed by veterans of Israel’s armed forces, has blasted Israeli forces for shooting civilians in Gaza for their supposed crossing of the “yellow line”, behind which Israel’s military has redeployed as part of the ceasefire.
Breaking the Silence, which monitors abuses of Palestinians in the occupied territory, said civilians are being shot and killed in Gaza for “crossing a line they don’t even know exists”.
“Let’s be clear: that line exists only on a map, not on the ground,” the group said in a post on social media.
“The same rules of engagement we’ve seen near the GHF ‘aid sites’ and across the Strip: ‘no-go zones’ cross them, and you get shot,” it said, referring to the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a scandal-plagued organization created to bypass the UN’s established aid delivery infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Since GHF started operating aid sites in May, there were reports on near-daily shootings at or near GHF sites, starving aid seekers in Gaza and former US mercenaries have spoken out about witnessing gunfire against Palestinian crowds.
Anyone who enters a “no-go zone” is automatically “sentenced to death”, Breaking the Silence added.
Dozens of Palestinian civilians have been killed across the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire took effect on Friday.
These attacks constitute a breach of the ceasefire agreement, which explicitly stated that “all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment and targeting operations, will be suspended”.
In some cases, the Israeli military confirmed carrying out the attacks, claiming it targeted individuals who had crossed agreed-upon army deployment lines.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem condemned the attacks, calling them a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
“The Israeli army’s killing of several Gaza residents this morning through shelling and gunfire is a clear breach of the ceasefire,” Qassem said in a statement.
He called on international actors to hold Israel accountable and to ensure it adheres to its commitments made to mediators regarding the cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip. — QNN
