Palestinian residents in northern Gaza are being shot by Hamas militants while attempting to escape the current fighting in the area, according to a report by Channel 12 News.
The allegations were made to the Israeli broadcaster by Cpl. Shai Gilboa, an IDF combat medic who treated some of the victims in recent days before they were transported to “local medical forces” in more secure locations.
“Our battalion went into action to exert as much military pressure as possible on Hamas terrorists, who held the civilian population in the area and forbade them from evacuating to a safe area,” Gilboa said. “The wounded came to us, and we provided them with first aid in the field.”
Gilboa further described her colleague's interactions with the Gazans, stating “they smile at us, they wave goodbye at us, they curse Hamas in front of us.”
The ongoing relocations in the region are transpiring despite the Hamas-run interior ministry urging affected individuals to disregard Israel’s warnings, purporting “the occupation is conducting continued bombing and killing every day in the areas it claims to be safe.”
The corporal’s remarks follow recordings released last week by the Israeli Army’s Unit 504, in which an inhabitant of Jabaliya expressed frustrations about Hamas's restrictions on leaving active war zones. He told a member of the intelligence detachment that when noncombatants follow the IDF’s directions and attempt to reach places of sanctuary, they are confronted by associates of the Islamists who physically attack them with sticks and shout, “go back, go back.”
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