In Israel, only a few newspapers and journals, such as Haaretz and Nine Seven Two Magazine, are making some effort to depict the true situation in Gaza. This month, six Israeli soldiers who completed their mandatory military duty in Gaza spoke candidly to Nine Seven Two Magazine about their “tour of duty.” Here’s a summary of their statements for you to form your own opinion.
According to these soldiers, “We were allowed to shoot anyone of any age, appearance, or gender who came close to our declared ‘no-go zones’ without hesitation.”
The bodies of those killed by bombings, shelling, and shooting often remain abandoned in streets and highways, left to decompose or be scavenged by hungry animals. On routes used by international aid convoys, the bodies or remains are collected by bulldozers and covered with dirt to avoid the aid workers seeing them.
Several civilians were also killed for crossing the prohibited line to collect food dropped from aid trucks. They appeared so desperate from hunger that they risked their lives, but crossing the danger line cost them their lives.
Homes suspected of being linked to militants are set ablaze after residents are forcibly evacuated. Soldiers also fire indiscriminately to alleviate their boredom or frustration, regardless of the consequences.
Units do not receive written instructions on when to shoot; it is left to the soldier’s discretion to assess the danger on-site and decide on necessary actions for self-defense.
Due to the lack of written orders, many units have mistakenly fired on each other, resulting in the deaths of over thirty soldiers. Three hostages were also accidentally shot, despite carrying a white flag, as they were mistaken for militants. Such incidents are usually not thoroughly investigated to avoid lowering the morale of the fighting troops.
Local residents, even if they accidentally or mistakenly approach an Israeli unit, are met with direct gunfire rather than warning shots. For example, in November, refugees at a school in Gaza City’s Zaitoun area were told to flee left and avoid moving right where Israeli soldiers were stationed. Gunfire from the school caused chaos, resulting in fifteen to twenty deaths among men, women, and children.
One Israeli soldier who spoke with Nine Seven Two Magazine mentioned that Hamas fighters blend into crowds, making it difficult to distinguish between civilians and combatants. They suspect anyone aged fifteen to fifty to be a militant and consider anyone outside their home without a valid reason as a legitimate target. Thus, soldiers can shoot in self-defense without a detailed risk assessment.
Even in areas that Israel has declared safe, where millions of Palestinians have been ordered to relocate multiple times, Palestinians remain unsafe. For example, after declaring the coastal area of Al-Mawasi as a safe zone and directing refugees from Khan Younis to move there, indiscriminate bombing killed over a hundred Palestinians and injured three hundred. The justification was that senior Hamas leaders were hiding in Al-Mawasi, but no such leaders were found among the dead, most of whom were children.
Battalion commanders laying siege to areas may issue clear instructions, but these are not always followed. Subordinates often act on their own discretion, and due to extraordinary wartime conditions, disciplinary actions against them are rare, resulting in loose discipline among Gaza’s fighting units.
Of the six soldiers who spoke to Nine Seven Two Magazine, one, Yuval Green, a 26-year-old from the 55th Paratrooper Unit, participated in combat operations in Gaza in November and December. Upon returning, he resigned and joined the forty-one soldiers who refused to fight in the Rafah attack as a protest. They could face court-martial for insubordination, but Yuval Green stated they are prepared for any punishment. However, after what they witnessed, they cannot return to the military.
Yuval Green noted that the army uses excessive weaponry even when unnecessary. For instance, during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, ammunition was fired indiscriminately into the air to celebrate.
Whenever a building is demolished in an airstrike, there is a wave of joy among the ground troops, with some even dancing. It feels as if a building in a computer game, devoid of people, has been destroyed.
In May, some soldiers serving in Gaza provided statements to an Israeli Knesset investigation committee. One bulldozer driver claimed he had crushed hundreds of living and dead “terrorists” with his bulldozer.
One of the driver’s colleagues recently committed suicide due to ongoing mental stress.