A new report from Breaking the Silence describes the testimonies of 30 Israeli soldiers, many of whom stated they were encouraged by military leaders to “shoot first and worry about civilians later” during the Israeli military offensive into the Gaza Strip earlier this year. The soldiers, all of whom remained anonymous, also reported using Palestinians as human shields and bombing buildings indiscriminately. One soldier said of white phosphorous, a lethal incendiary agent found to have been used against civilians: “[I]n training you learn that white phosphorus is not used, and you’re taught that it’s not humane. You watch films and see what it does to people who are hit, and you say, ‘There, we’re doing it too.’ That’s not what I expected to see. Until that moment I had thought I belonged to the most humane army in the world.”
Groups conducting investigations on the Gaza Strip include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The results of these investigations have generally indicated that “Israeli forces inflicted civilian death and destruction on an unjustifiable scale” during the assault. Amnesty International estimated that 1400 Palestinians (including 300 children) were killed during the attack, although Israeli officials put the number at closer to 1100 and stated that most of those deaths were Hamas terrorist operatives. The Israeli government has not cooperated with any investigations and vehemently denies these claims; a spokeswoman for the Israeli military stated recently that their forces went to “extraordinary lengths” to avoid civilian deaths during the offensive.
Many of these reports have also concluded that in the six months since the Israeli military attack known as Operation Cast Lead, inhabitants are still unable to recover from the devastating attacks. The lack of construction materials, medical supplies, and other humanitarian aid allowed into the area are prolonging reconstruction and recovery. Insufficient supplies, an overloaded water and sanitation infrastructure, and unavailable health care continue to thwart recovery efforts and attempts to improve public health. Unemployment in Gaza was at 44% in April of this year, partly because 96% of all industrial businesses have shut down due to restrictions on import and export of goods. Injured or ill patients who require medical attention outside of Gaza (medications and equipment are often scarce in hospitals, as little is allowed in) have to wait for months to receive permits to leave, and many are never allowed to leave at all.
For more information:
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Impunity for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel a recipe for further civilian suffering
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Hamas’ deadly campaign in the shadow of the war in Gaza
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