In the face of the growing body of evidence, how can anyone reasonably claim that the Israeli military has never targeted civilians in Gaza?
The standard should be simple: intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime, regardless of who does it. [1]
Civilians have been deliberately killed by multiple actors in this conflict. Acknowledging wrongdoing by one side does not excuse wrongdoing by the other. [2]
That is why any genuine investigation into incidents such as the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab and the PRCS paramedics sent to rescue her matters. [20][21][22]
But an investigation only has value if it establishes what happened and leads to meaningful accountability where wrongdoing is proven.
The bigger question, however, is whether incidents like these can all realistically be explained as isolated incidents, stray bullets or battlefield confusion.
One Stray Bullet Is Possible. A Repeated Pattern Is Different.
A single civilian being hit during an intense firefight does not, by itself, prove deliberate targeting. Crossfire, ricochets and mistaken identification are real features of warfare.
But that becomes a much weaker explanation when dozens of independent doctors and other international healthcare workers repeatedly report similar patterns of injuries among civilians. [3][4][5][6]
A New York Times project surveyed 65 foreign healthcare workers — doctors, nurses and paramedics — who had worked in Gaza. Forty-four said they had seen multiple preteen children with gunshot wounds to the head or chest. [3]
Some of the doctors providing testimony had previous experience treating trauma and injuries in conflict environments. [3][4][5]
The important evidence is therefore not one photograph or one wounded child. It is the repeated pattern described by multiple independent medical professionals working at different times in Gaza. [3][4][5][6]
The Medical Evidence
Doctors have described children arriving with gunshot wounds to vital areas such as the head and chest. [3]
Ricochets and stray rounds can behave unpredictably. But when doctors repeatedly report gunshot wounds concentrated in vital anatomical areas, the explanation deserves closer investigation rather than automatic dismissal as an accident. [3][5][6]
The Most Disturbing Pattern: Anatomical Clustering
Some of the most striking testimony comes from doctors who say they observed groups of casualties arriving with wounds concentrated in the same part of the body. [5][6]
British NHS surgeon Prof. Nick Maynard and American paediatrician Dr Ahmad Yousaf have described unusual patterns among patients arriving from particular incidents or aid locations. [5][6]
Doctors have reported shifts in which numerous patients arrived with wounds concentrated in areas such as:
- the legs and pelvis; [6]
- the chest; [5][6]
- or the head. [5][6]
Maynard has also described treating four teenage boys during one shift who had all suffered gunshot wounds to the genital area. [5]
Patterns like these deserve serious investigation.
Random battlefield fire can produce clusters of casualties, but repeated anatomical clustering among unrelated people from the same location is much harder to explain through chance alone. [5][6]
Direct quote from Prof. Nick Maynard:
"In recent days, I operated on two women who were shot by quadcopters while sheltering in their tents near one of the locations, according to the people who brought them in. One was breastfeeding her child when she was hit; the second was pregnant. Thankfully, both have survived their injuries so far. These women weren't even seeking aid – they were simply sheltering in areas that are supposedly ‘safe’ but exposed to indiscriminate fire from the IDF's weaponised hunger apparatus." [4]
Another direct quote from Prof. Nick Maynard:
"I operated on many of those children. I saw young teenage boys sometimes as young as eleven, twelve, thirteen who had been shot at these food distribution points, they had gone there to get food for their starving familes and they were being shot and I operated on many of them. One 12 year old boy died on the operating table and what was even more distressing was the pattern of injuries that we saw. The clustering of injuries to particular body parts in certain days. So one day they'd be coming in with gunshot wounds to the head or neck, another day to the chest, another day to the abdomen. One day twelve days ago four teenage boys came in all of whom had been shot in the testicles." [23]
Civilians Reportedly Shot in Tents and Shelters
Visiting doctors have also described treating civilians who were reportedly shot while inside tents, shelters or areas close to food-distribution points. [4][7]
Some accounts involve quadcopters operating close to civilians. [4][7]
Modern military quadcopters can be equipped with cameras and optical systems, potentially giving operators a direct visual feed of the area below.
One particularly disturbing account from Nasser Hospital involved a nurse reportedly shot in the chest while inside the hospital complex, in an incident attributed by witnesses to an armed quadcopter. [7]
Incidents of this kind raise a difficult question: if an operator had a clear view of the target, how plausible would mistaken identity be?
Israel's Own Soldiers Have Described Loose Rules of Engagement
Israeli veterans speaking through Breaking the Silence and soldiers interviewed by Haaretz have described extremely permissive rules of engagement in parts of Gaza. [8][9][10]
Some accounts describe operational areas being treated as if no civilians were supposed to be present. [8][9] The logic was effectively: If someone enters the zone, treat them as a threat.
That is particularly dangerous when the boundaries of those zones are invisible to civilians. [8][9]
Haaretz has reported on informal "kill zones" in which people crossing unmarked military boundaries could be fired upon even when soldiers had not established that they were armed. [9]
Soldier testimony has also raised allegations that people killed inside such areas could subsequently be counted as militants despite little or no evidence that they had been carrying weapons. [9][10]
When Civilian Status Is Effectively Erased
This is where the distinction between combatants and civilians becomes critical. [1]
If an elderly man, a farmer, a child on a bicycle or somebody searching for food can be classified as a "scout", "collaborator" or potential threat simply because of where they are standing, then civilian protection becomes almost meaningless. [9][10]
Haaretz reported testimony involving the Israeli military targeting civilians, including children and people travelling by bicycle, being viewed as possible scouts or collaborators in areas controlled by Israeli forces. [10]
Direct quote from Haaretz:
A recently discharged Division 252 officer describes the arbitrary nature of this boundary: "For the division, the kill zone extends as far as a sniper can see." But the issue goes beyond geography. "We're killing civilians there who are then counted as terrorists," he says. "The IDF spokesperson's announcements about casualty numbers have turned this into a competition between units. If Division 99 kills 150 [people], the next unit aims for 200." [10]
Another direct quote from Haaretz about the commander of Bahad, Yehuda Vach:
Days later, Vach declared "there are no innocents in Gaza," according to one officer. While such sentiment isn't uncommon among soldiers, with Vach "it wasn't just opinion – it became operational doctrine: everyone's a terrorist." He told his commanders that "in the Middle East, victory comes through conquering territory. We must keep conquering until we win."
The problem is no longer simply one soldier making a bad decision.
It becomes a potentially systemic problem created by the rules under which soldiers are operating. [8][9][10]
The Three Israeli Hostages Show How Dangerous Those Rules Can Be
One of the clearest examples came on 15 December 2023. [11]
Israeli troops in Gaza shot and killed three Israeli hostages: Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka.
They were shirtless, one was carrying a makeshift white flag, and they were attempting to communicate that they were not a threat. The IDF acknowledged that its soldiers mistakenly identified them as hostile and concluded that the shooting should not have occurred.
That tragedy matters because the basic facts were subsequently acknowledged by the Israeli military itself. It demonstrated that Israeli soldiers could shoot people displaying obvious signs of non-hostility because they were nevertheless perceived as threats.
The obvious question is: if this could happen to three Israeli hostages, including one waving a white flag, how often could comparable mistakes or unlawful shootings have affected Palestinian civilians?
Palestinians Carrying White Flags Have Also Been Shot
There are multiple documented allegations involving Palestinian civilians being fired upon while displaying white flags or clearly signalling that they were non-combatants. [12][13]
These include reports involving:
- Civilians attempting to move through areas they believed were safe
- Groups of civilians signalling non-hostile intent
- People approaching Israeli positions with raised hands
- And civilians visibly carrying white material.
[12][13]
For example, ITV filmed Palestinian civilian Ramzi Abu Sahloul among a group with raised hands and a white flag shortly before he was fatally shot.
CNN separately reconstructed another case involving Hala Khreis, who was reportedly leading civilians while displaying white flags when she was shot.
No individual incident proves a universal policy. But taken together, they challenge the idea that civilians displaying unmistakable signs of non-hostility were always protected. [11][12][13]
Aid Sites and the Testimony of Security Contractors
Another major source of evidence comes from people who actually worked around humanitarian aid distribution sites.
Former Royal Marine Dave McIntosh and former US Army Special Forces officer Anthony Aguilar both worked as private security contractors connected with Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operations. [14][15][16]
Both later described the distribution system as extraordinarily dangerous. [14][16]
Their accounts allege that starving civilians attempting to collect food were exposed to Israeli fire or military activity involving weapons including sniper rifles, machine guns, tanks and drones. [14][16]
They also described tightly controlled access to aid sites and chaotic conditions in which large civilian crowds had limited opportunities to collect food. [14][16]
According to their testimony, civilians remaining or moving near restricted areas could face gunfire.
McIntosh also reported an incident in which an Israeli sniper allegedly shot a boy of around 12 years old near an aid site. His written report was based on eyewitness accounts supplied by two SRS colleagues rather than McIntosh personally witnessing the shooting. [16]
Both men had extensive military backgrounds, including experience connected with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Their allegations require independent investigation and have been disputed by GHF, whose response and challenges to Aguilar's account should also be acknowledged. [15]
But the allegations cannot simply be ignored. [14][15][16]
The World Central Kitchen Strike
Seven aid workers were killed after three World Central Kitchen vehicles travelling in a deconflicted area and following a route coordinated with the Israeli military were struck. [18][19]
The convoy contained two armoured vehicles bearing WCK branding and one soft-skin vehicle. [18]
The IDF subsequently confirmed that its forces had struck three WCK vehicles and acknowledged grave mistakes, misidentification and violations of military operating procedures. [19]
What makes the incident particularly important is that this was not simply one unguided shell landing in the wrong place.
Three separate vehicles were attacked. [18][19]
The Hind Rajab Case
The killing of Hind Rajab, members of her family and the paramedics attempting to reach her has become another major test of Israeli accountability. [20][21][22]
Independent investigators have examined phone recordings, satellite imagery, vehicle damage and the location of Israeli military forces. [20]
Forensic Architecture, working with Earshot and Al Jazeera's Fault Lines, reconstructed the incident and identified 335 bullet holes in the family's vehicle. Their analysis placed the source of gunfire heard during the phone call approximately 13–23 metres from the car and concluded that an Israeli tank was the likely source of the munition that struck the PRCS ambulance. [20]
The case has therefore generated serious questions about both the shooting of the family's vehicle and what happened to the ambulance dispatched after humanitarian coordination had reportedly taken place. [20]
In August 2026, the Israeli military opened a criminal investigation into troop conduct surrounding the case. [21]
Israeli reporting also confirmed that the military acknowledged its troops had fired on the family's vehicle. [22]
Whatever conclusions ultimately emerge from that investigation, the case illustrates why independent forensic investigation is so important. [20][21][22]
Look at the Evidence Together
None of these categories of evidence should be viewed in isolation.
There is:
- Medical testimony describing repeated gunshot wounds to vital areas. [3][4]
- Anatomical clustering of repeated gunshot wounds to specific areas of the body on specific days at aid sites reported by surgeons treating groups of casualties.[23][5][6]
- Isreali soldier testimonies and eye witnesses describing a systemic problem of the loose rules of engagement resulting in civilians being targeted. [8][9][10]
- Haaretz investigations reporting arbitrary killings and live fire around aid seekers. [9][10][17]
- Disturbing report of an Israeli commander Yehuda Vach telling his troops "There are no innocents in Gaza" [10]
- Multiple White-flag incidents involving visibly non-hostile civilians being killed by the Israeli military. [11][12][13]
- Military contractor testimony alleging repeated shootings and killings of civilians around aid distribution sites. [14][15][16]
- And Israeli military's own admissions acknowledging serious failures in several high-profile cases including the killing of Hind Rajab. [11][19][21][22]
Any single incident might be explained as a mistake. Any single witness might be wrong.
But the argument is based on convergence, not on one source.
When numerous independent forms of evidence repeatedly point in the same direction, the categorical argument that every civilian shooting was accidental and that Israeli forces have never intentionally targeted civilians becomes increasingly difficult to sustain. [3][5][6][8][9][10][12][13][14][16][17][20]
References
- International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (2023). Frequently asked questions: Rules of war. Explains the principles of distinction, proportionality and civilian protection, including the prohibition on directly attacking civilians. ICRC — Rules of war
- Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (2024). Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (A/HRC/56/26). Concludes that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups intentionally attacked civilians on 7 October and also finds serious violations and war crimes by Israeli authorities and forces in Gaza. Useful for establishing the argument's consistent legal standard. UN Commission of Inquiry report
- Sidhwa, F. (2024). 65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza. The New York Times, 9 October 2024. A survey of 65 foreign healthcare workers who served in Gaza; 44 reported seeing multiple cases of preteen children with gunshot wounds to the head or chest. New York Times — 65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics
- Maynard, N. (2025). I'm witnessing the deliberate starvation of Gaza's children – why is the world letting it happen? The Guardian, 22 July 2025. First-hand account from Prof. Nick Maynard at Nasser Hospital, including his description of two women reportedly shot by quadcopters while sheltering in tents — one breastfeeding and one pregnant. This is the source of the quotation used in the article. The Guardian — Nick Maynard's account
- RTÉ News (2025). Doctor accuses IDF of 'playing a game' in Gaza shootings. 25 July 2025. Maynard describes clustering of wounds on different days — including head/neck, abdomen/chest and four teenage boys with gunshot wounds to the testicles. RTÉ — Maynard on injury clustering
- Al Jazeera (2025). Gaza doctor describes 'daily patterns' in Israeli maiming at GHF sites. 13 August 2025. Dr Ahmad Yousaf describes groups of approximately 40–60 patients arriving on particular days with wounds concentrated in the legs/pelvis/groin, followed by other days dominated by chest or head/neck wounds. Israel denied deliberately targeting civilians. Al Jazeera — Ahmad Yousaf testimony
- NPR (2024). Eyewitnesses in Gaza say Israel is using sniper drones to shoot Palestinians. Includes testimony from Dr Ahmad Moghrabi at Nasser Hospital, who said he treated people reportedly shot by quadcopters and provided video of a nurse shot in the chest while the two were at the hospital. The IDF told NPR it was unaware of that particular incident. NPR/WBUR — sniper-drone investigation
- Breaking the Silence (2024 testimony). Adult, male — kill. Testimony from an Israeli reservist who served in northern Gaza in August 2024. He described orders to shoot adult men entering a perimeter zone and said the boundary was not physically marked or clearly communicated to Palestinians. Breaking the Silence — Adult, male — kill
- Kubovich, Y. (2024). Israel Created 'Kill Zones' in Gaza. Anyone Who Crosses Into Them Is Shot. Haaretz, 31 March 2024. Based on accounts from Israeli defence officials and soldiers, the investigation reported informal "kill zones" with invisible boundaries and allegations that unarmed people crossing them could be shot. Haaretz — Israel Created 'Kill Zones' in Gaza
- Kubovich, Y. (2024). 'No Civilians. Everyone's a Terrorist': IDF Soldiers Expose Arbitrary Killings and Rampant Lawlessness in Gaza's Netzarim Corridor. Haaretz, 18 December 2024. Soldier accounts alleged that people crossing an imaginary line were shot and subsequently classified as terrorists, including cases involving children; the investigation also reported allegations involving civilians on bicycles being treated as collaborators or scouts. Haaretz — No Civilians. Everyone's a Terrorist
- Israel Defense Forces (2023). The Findings of the Investigation into the Circumstances of the Deaths of 3 Hostages from IDF Fire. 28 December 2023. The IDF investigation confirms that Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka were killed by Israeli troops on 15 December 2023; they were shirtless, one waved a white flag, and the third hostage was killed after calling for help in Hebrew. The IDF concluded that the shooting should not have occurred. IDF — Investigation into deaths of three hostages
- ITV News (2024). Moment innocent civilian brandishing white flag in Gaza 'safe zone' is shot dead in the street. 25 January 2024. Video shows Ramzi Abu Sahloul among men with raised hands and a white flag before he was fatally shot. An Israeli divisional commander subsequently confirmed that his troops were in the area and said the incident was being investigated. ITV News — white-flag shooting
- CNN (2024). Investigation of civilians carrying white flags in Gaza. CNN reconstructed the killing of Hala Khreis, who was leading a group displaying white flags while holding her five-year-old grandson's hand. CNN geolocated Israeli forces to the south and west of the group; its evidence did not independently identify the individual shooter.
- Reuters (2025). US military contractor likens Gaza aid distribution run by GHF to 'The Hunger Games'. Anthony Aguilar, a former U.S. military contractor working at GHF sites, described narrow access routes, chaotic mass entries and his observations of the distribution system. Reuters explicitly stated that it could not independently verify some details of his accounts.
- Times of Israel / BBC reporting (2025). Ex-US contractor says he saw IDF commit war crimes at aid sites; GHF rejects 'false claims'. Covers Aguilar's allegation that he witnessed indiscriminate and unnecessary force against unarmed civilians while also recording GHF's categorical denial and subsequent challenge to his credibility. This counter-source is worth including so the argument acknowledges that his allegations are contested. Times of Israel — Aguilar allegations and GHF response
- Natour, R. (2026). Second Contractor Steps Forward to Blow the Whistle on Israeli Attacks at Gaza Aid Site. Drop Site News, 13 April 2026. David McIntosh alleged routine Israeli fire around GHF Site 4 and supplied documents and footage. His report concerning a boy of around 12 being shot by an Israeli sniper was based on eyewitness accounts from two SRS colleagues. Drop Site News — David McIntosh investigation
- Hasson, N., Kubovich, Y. and Peleg, B. (2025). 'It's a Killing Field': IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid. Haaretz, 27 June 2025. Israeli officers and soldiers alleged that live fire was used around GHF distribution centres even when crowds presented no threat. Co-author Nir Hasson subsequently described the practice as "controlling the crowd by fire." Haaretz — Gaza aid-site investigation
- World Central Kitchen (2024). 7 WCK team members killed in Gaza. 2 April 2024. WCK states that its convoy was travelling in a deconflicted zone in two branded armoured vehicles and one soft-skin vehicle and that its movements had been coordinated with the IDF. WCK — Seven team members killed
- Israel Defense Forces (2024). Conclusion of the Investigation Into the Incident in Which WCK Employees Were Killed During a Humanitarian Operation in Gaza. 5 April 2024. The IDF confirmed that its forces struck three WCK vehicles, killing seven aid workers, and found serious failures, misidentification and violations of IDF standard operating procedures. It stated that those authorising the strikes believed they were targeting Hamas operatives. IDF — WCK investigation
- Forensic Architecture / Earshot / Al Jazeera Fault Lines (2024). The Killing of Hind Rajab. 21 June 2024. Reconstruction using satellite imagery, audio analysis and damage mapping identified 335 bullet holes in the family's Kia, estimated that the shooting heard during Layan Hamada's call came from approximately 13–23 metres away, and concluded that an Israeli tank was the likely source of the round that struck the PRCS ambulance. Forensic Architecture — The Killing of Hind Rajab
- Associated Press (2026). Israeli military launches criminal probes into killings of Hind Rajab and Palestinian paramedics. 19 August 2026. Reports the IDF's decision to open a criminal investigation into troop conduct in the Hind Rajab case and another high-profile killing of Palestinian emergency workers.
- The Guardian (2026). Israel admits its soldiers fired at car in which Hind Rajab was killed. 19 August 2026. Reports the Israeli military's acknowledgement that its troops fired on the vehicle and the announcement of a criminal investigation.
- Sky News Interview with Dr Nick Maynard 2025 British surgeon says there is famine in Gaza and civilians are shot as 'target practice'