The killing of Palestinians waiting for food aid in Gaza is drawing severe condemnation, with critics arguing it can no longer be dismissed as collateral damage, Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz.

With at least 549 dead and thousands wounded while seeking food, the international community is questioning whether Israel is committing genocide.

“Is Israel perpetrating genocide in Gaza? There is now a precise test: if Israel doesn’t immediately halt massacring people standing in line at aid distribution locations… it is indeed committing genocide,” Levy writes.

Eyewitness accounts and reporting by Israeli journalists indicate that Israel Defense Forces soldiers have been ordered to shoot to kill starving civilians at aid sites. The government replaced experienced UN agencies with an opaque U.S.-Israeli group that limited food distribution to four one-hour windows daily, creating chaos.

“These masses gather there following a blend of folly and malice,” the piece argues, condemning military responses that use live fire on desperate civilians.

Blame is also directed at top Israeli leaders, including Brig. Gen. Yehuda Vach, IDF Chief of Staff, the defense minister, and the prime minister. “If they don’t desist, they are declaring themselves as individuals suspected of committing genocide,” the article warns.

Gaza, it concludes, now defines Israel in the eyes of the world.

Read more at Haaretz.