Israeli ambassador to Canada blasts reports that IDF soldiers killed civilians
Findings from an Israeli government inquiry found that Israeli Defence Force IDF solders did not open fire on the civilians
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OTTAWA — Israel’s ambassador to Canada is taking aim at media outlets amplifying disputed reports that Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians lining up for humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Numerous media outlets — both in Canada and around the world — picked up a story released by the “Palestinian Health ministry” that 31 people were killed by Israeli soldiers who shot at civilians receiving aid provided by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Sunday.
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“At this critical time for both Palestinians and Israelis, it is important for the media, including here in Canada, to exercise due diligence and caution with information published by the Hamas terrorist organization,” Ambassador Iddo Moed said.
“It is essential that the Canadian government and other liberal democracies work together to fulfill their commitment that Hamas will have no future role in Gaza.”
Findings from an Israeli government inquiry found that Israeli Defence Force (IDF) solders did not open fire on the civilians, and that the IDF are cooperating with GHF efforts to distribute aid, a statement from the embassy says.
The Gaza Health Ministry, operated by terror group Hamas, regularly issues news reports and causality data of dubious veracity — often conflating death and injury tolls and including the deaths of militants into civilian numbers, despite the United Nations and numerous media outlets relying on their data as genuine.
Hamas regularly intercepts aid shipments from Israel, and instead of distributing them to needy Gazans routinely warehouses them for later sale.
Reports from within Gaza suggest Hamas control is quickly loosening, with videos posted to social media last week showing scores of hungry Gazans breaking into a Hamas food warehouse, carrying out hundreds of UN-marked bags of food, flour and supplies.
Hamas militants opened fire on the hungry crowd, killing two and injuring several others.
In a social media post last week, Hamas ordered Gazans not to accept food from GHF aid workers, warning civilians who do so “will pay the price.”
Information has become a powerful weapon in the current conflict parked by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, with last week’s false claim by UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs Tom Fletcher — amplified by the BBC and a British MP — that 14,000 Gazan infants could die in 48 hours if Israel didn’t send aid.
The BBC and UN were forced to walk back that claim after the numbers were based on an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report warning of malnutrition risks — not imminent death — for children as old as five years if aid was withheld for a full year, not 48 hours.
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