{"id":929145,"date":"2026-07-12T04:24:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T04:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/929145\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T04:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T04:24:20","slug":"father-of-gaza-aid-truck-driver-killed-by-idf-says-soldier-shot-him-between-the-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/929145\/","title":{"rendered":"Father of Gaza aid truck driver killed by IDF says soldier shot him &#8216;between the eyes\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The father of Palestinian truck driver Ahmad Esleem, who was shot dead by IDF troops in Gaza on Wednesday, spoke out against the circumstances of his son\u2019s death in a Hebrew-language video published by the Haaretz daily on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Nasser Esleem said in the video that his son had been on his way to \u201cbring food for the children\u201d when he was killed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had held a license for eight years. He had worked at Kerem Shalom for eight years. He was vetted by the army. He had a permit. Then a soldier came and put a bullet between his eyes,\u201d Nasser lamented.<\/p>\n<p>Media outlets in Gaza reported on Wednesday that Esleem was shot dead by Israeli troops on his way back into the Strip while transporting aid through the Kerem Shalom Crossing.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, the IDF told The Times of Israel that Esleem \u201cran toward troops, who initiated the suspect arrest procedure. During the procedure, they perceived an immediate threat and opened fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel&#8217;s Daily Edition<br \/>\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/terms\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">terms<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The military said the incident was under investigation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">???? World Central Kitchen said Israeli forces killed Ahmad Nasser Saleem, a driver working for one of its partner logistics companies, while he was transporting aid from the Kerem Shalom crossing to a WCK warehouse in Gaza on on Wednesday, July 8. <\/p>\n<p>WCK called for a full\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dNX9QrGJZa\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/dNX9QrGJZa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DropSiteNews\/status\/2075083768902074404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Nasser delivered the remarks during a protest in Gaza over his son\u2019s death on Saturday, which was attended by several dozen people.\n<\/p>\n<p>Among the participants were truck drivers, who carried signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English, demanding to \u201cprotect the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Included in Gaza\u2019s private sector are the companies entrusted with transporting and trading humanitarian aid and supplies.<\/p>\n<p>Other signs seen at the protest proclaimed that \u201cthe world must give Gaza a chance to live.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"iw\" dir=\"rtl\">\u05ea\u05e7\u05e9\u05d9\u05d1\u05d5 \u05dc\u05e0\u05d0\u05e1\u05e8 \u05e1\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e9\u05dc \u05d0\u05d7\u05de\u05d3 \u05e1\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05e0\u05d4\u05d2 \u05de\u05e9\u05d0\u05d9\u05ea \u05e9\u05dc\u05e4\u05d9 \u05e2\u05d3\u05d9 \u05e8\u05d0\u05d9\u05d9\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05e6\u05d0 \u05dc\u05d4\u05d5\u05e8\u05d2 \u05e2\u05dc \u05d9\u05d3\u05d9 \u05d7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dc \u05e6\u05d4&#8221;\u05dc \u05d1\u05e6\u05d9\u05e8 \u05e4\u05d9\u05dc\u05d3\u05dc\u05e4\u05d9 \u05d1\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05e2\u05d9. \u05e0\u05d0\u05e1\u05e8 \u05e4\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4 \u05dc\u05e6\u05d9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05ea \u05de\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05de\u05ea: &#8220;\u05d0\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05db\u05dd \u05e8\u05d7\u05de\u05d9\u05dd?&#8221;. \u05dc\u05de\u05d8\u05d4 \u05db\u05ea\u05d1\u05d4. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UPo7bQcByg\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/UPo7bQcByg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u0646\u064a\u0631 \u062d\u0633\u0648\u0646 Nir Hasson \u05e0\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d7\u05e1\u05d5\u05df (@nirhasson) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nirhasson\/status\/2075694110749417778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Jihad Esleem, deputy head of Gaza\u2019s Private Transport Association, who participated in the protest, said that \u201caid truck drivers are being subjected to systematic killings and deliberate attacks while carrying out their humanitarian duty of transporting aid into the Gaza Strip.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 73,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the war in the enclave \u2014 including over 1,000 since the October 2025 ceasefire \u2014 though the toll is unverified and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli military believes that Hamas\u2019s overall toll is largely accurate, with IDF officials estimating that two to three civilians were killed for every dead terror operative.<\/p>\n<p>The IDF says it has killed over 23,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza\u2019s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tWe can&#8217;t do this work alone.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-4-200x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-square size-square wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n<p>There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n<p>As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can&#8217;t do this alone. <strong>If you value work like this,<\/strong> <strong>please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community.<\/strong> Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=module&amp;utm_campaign=resilience&amp;utm_term=stav&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end&amp;utm_content=BDFCFF\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn crm-post-module__btn-desktop\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tYes, I&#8217;ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=module&amp;utm_campaign=resilience&amp;utm_term=stav&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end&amp;utm_content=BDFCFF\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn crm-post-module__btn-mobile\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tYes, I&#8217;ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a class=\"crm_under_btn_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-in?RedirectTo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Ffather-of-gaza-aid-truck-driver-killed-by-idf-says-soldier-shot-him-between-the-eyes%2F\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tYou&#8217;re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/334x334-200x200.png\" class=\"attachment-square size-square wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"crm-article-popup__counter-wrap\" style=\"display:none\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read <strong> X Times of Israel articles<\/strong> in the past month.&#13;\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel &#8211; to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So now we have a request.<\/strong> Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining <strong>The Times of Israel Community.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel <strong>AD-FREE<\/strong>, as well as accessing <strong>exclusive content<\/strong> available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, <br \/>David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_campaign=dedicated&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end_counter&amp;utm_content=1964F6\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn crm-post-module__btn-desktop\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_campaign=dedicated&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end_counter&amp;utm_content=1964F6\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn crm-post-module__btn-mobile\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a class=\"crm_under_btn_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-in?RedirectTo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Ffather-of-gaza-aid-truck-driver-killed-by-idf-says-soldier-shot-him-between-the-eyes%2F\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The father of Palestinian truck driver Ahmad Esleem, who was shot dead by IDF troops in Gaza on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":929146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[314155,4526,21459,306515,99,374710,50,31235],"class_list":["post-929145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-2023-2025-israel-hamas-war","tag-gaza-strip","tag-humanitarian-aid","tag-idf-israel-defense-forces","tag-israel","tag-kerem-shalom-crossing","tag-news","tag-palestinians"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116905108302980972","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}