Israeli soldiers instructed to shoot civilians in Netzarim Corridor 'kill zone': Report

Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza have told Haaretz that they were instructed to kill unarmed women, children and men who entered the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land that cuts through central Gaza.

The corridor was created in recent months by Israeli forces to monitor Palestinians.

The Israeli army cleared the area of its Palestinian residents, demolishing their homes to make way for the construction of military roads and positions.

The unnamed soldiers, officers and reservists  reported that the seven kilometre strip of land is now considered a "kill zone", with every Palestinian "crossing an imaginary line" into the corridor considered a terrorist, even children..

"We're killing civilians there who are then counted as terrorists," a recently discharegd Division 252 officer told Haaretz.

He added that casualty numbers became "a competition between units. If Division 99 kills 150 [people], the next unit aims for 200."

One officer recalled an incident in which a commander had announced that 200 fighters had been killed, when actually “only 10 were confirmed as known Hamas operatives”.

One commander said that the boundaries of the corridor are marked by a "line of dead bodies".

"After shootings, bodies are not collected, attracting packs of dogs who come to eat them. In Gaza, people know that wherever you see these dogs, that's where you must not go."