IDF paramedic describes Hamas opening fire on civilians in the Strip, wounding unarmed Gazans.
By World Israel News Staff
Hamas gunmen are shooting unarmed Gazan civilians attempting to flee Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, as the IDF engages in intensive anti-terror offensive in the area.
The IDF has announced that Jabaliya is now a combat zone and that unarmed people should leave the city, but Hamas is actively preventing civilians from fleeing.
“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,” IDF paramedic Corporal Shai Gilboa, told Channel 12 News.
According to Gilboa, Hamas opened fire on Gazan civilians trying to reach safety, in an attempt to keep them in the line of fire between the terror group and Israeli military operating in the area.
Gazans hurt by Hamas gunfire sought help from the IDF, Gilboa said.
“The wounded came to us and we provided them with first aid in the field, which mostly entailed stopping the bleeding,” she said.
She challenged the narrative that Gazans unaffiliated with Hamas are intimidated by IDF troops.
“They smile at us, they wave goodbye to us,” she said. “They curse Hamas in front of us.”
“Not only are they not afraid of us, a lot of them are on our side,” she added.
Hamas has long used Gazan civilians as human shields as central part of its strategy, intentionally holding battles in crowded urban areas in order to maximize civilian casualties.
The terror group then leverages the deaths of those caught in the crossfire to falsely accuse Israel of committing human rights violations.
Gilboa’s account comes after the Biden administration increased pressure on Israel to admit more aid into the Strip.
Shortly afterwards, Washington admitted that armed gangs in Gaza – presumably affiliated with Hamas – are preventing the transfer of humanitarian goods throughout the coastal enclave.