Are Israeli soldiers using Palestinians for target practice?
Hundreds of hungry Gazans have been killed in recent weeks at food distribution sites as they try to fetch food. The UN Human Rights Office on July 15 recorded a total of 875 people killed, with 674 killed in the vicinity of a private aid hub run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A British surgeon working in Gaza told BBC Radio 4 Today that he is concerned over the pattern of injuries he's seen in those brought to the hospital from aid distribution centres.
Dr Nick Maynard said: “I've seen, I think, probably a dozen now seriously injured young boys who have been shot in the abdomen or the chest. One of them, a 12-year-old, died on the operating table because the injuries were so severe, and they're all from gunshot wounds.
He added that families and medical colleagues who are also looking for food have witnessed these kinds of injuries at the same distribution sites caused by Israeli soldiers and drones.
“They're all describing that they're being shot by Israeli soldiers or by the quadcopters, the drones which are being remotely controlled by the Israelis, and fire often indiscriminately, often targeted. And I'm seeing a very clear we're all seeing a very clear pattern of injuries.
“I've seen the abdominal injuries, but my colleagues in the emergency room describe a very clear pattern where on particular days they'll see different body parts targeted. So on one day they'll all be abdominal gunshot wounds. On another day they'll all be head gunshot wounds or neck gunshot wounds. On another day, there'll be arm or leg gunshot wounds, and on last Saturday, there were four young teenage boys, all brought in very, very rapid in succession with gunshot wounds to their testicles. So they're clearly being targeted to their testicles. And this is a pattern that we're seeing every day that these young teenage boys are systematically being targeted, and it's almost as if a game is being played that they're deciding to shoot the head today and the neck tomorrow, and the testicles the day after,” Dr Nick Maynard described.
Israel denied to the BBC that it targeted minors, noting that its forces observed strict rules of engagement. It also said that it was untrue that it had used sniper drones at any stage during the conflict and that its troops always act within international law.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
