2/4/2024
reading time 3 minutes
Senior army officials and soldiers who served on the front lines confirmed to Haaretz that its troops were killing civilians and later claimed they were terrorists because they were in a certain area designated as a “combat zone.”
“It’s staggering to hear after every operation the reports regarding how many terrorists have been killed,” a senior officer in the army’s Southern Command told Haaretz.
“You don’t have to be a genius to realize that there are not hundreds or dozens of armed men running the streets of Khan Yunis or Jabaliya fighting the IDF.”
The IDF claims to have killed 9,000 terrorists since the start of the Gaza war. However, Defense Ministry officials and soldiers tell Haaretz that these are often just civilians whose only crime was crossing an invisible line drawn by the Israeli military:
IDF figures from Gaza are no secret. They have become a source of pride, perhaps the closest thing to a sense of “victory” that Israel has. But he is not an authentic image:
The officers also admitted to Haaretz that some of the Palestinians killed in the so-called “combat” or “death” zones may have been returning to their homes or looking for food, as fears of famine in northern Gaza continue to grow.
The soldiers explained to Haaretz that a “combat” zone is where a group of soldiers settles inside an abandoned house, with the surrounding area designated as a combat zone.
The soldiers then use observation posts outside the Gaza Strip to observe the area and determine what is considered a threat. However, the boundaries of each zone are subject to the interpretation of the commanding officer in that area.
“As soon as [zóny smrti] people enter, mainly grown men, it is ordered to shoot and kill, even if the person is not armed.
“In every combat zone, commanders define such killing zones,” one reserve officer told Haaretz.
“This means clear red lines that cannot be crossed by anyone who is not from the IDF, so that our troops in the area are not hit.”
“As soon as people enter it, especially grown men, it is ordered to shoot and kill, even if the person is not armed.
The indiscriminate nature of the army’s death zones also claimed the lives of three Israeli hostages held by Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.
The news comes as local medics confirmed that Israeli forces have killed at least 32,845 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Last week, Al Jazeera released footage showing Israeli forces killing two unarmed Palestinians returning to northern Gaza.
The footage showed at least one of the Palestinian men killed by Israeli forces approaching them waving a white flag to show he was not a threat.
The armored vehicle then chases the man, after which the Israeli soldiers shoot at him and he falls to the ground. Israeli forces then use a bulldozer to bury the two men.
398
Tags: Haaretz Israeli army created killing zones Gaza targeting civilians killing indiscriminately inform civilians
-
