Israel turned Gaza heart into ‘kill zone’ for Palestinian civilians: Haaretz

Yasmine Osama Farag , Thursday 19 Dec 2024

Israeli newspaper Haaretz has revealed chilling crimes committed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including the indiscriminate killings of civilians, competitions among soldiers to kill more Palestinians before leaving their bodies to feed dogs, and bombings across the strip without authorization from senior military leadership.

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File photo: Israeli soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip. AFP

 

Haaretz has gathered testimonies from active-duty soldiers, officers, and reservists detailing how the Israeli army turned the heart of the Gaza Strip, specifically the area north of the Netzarim Corridor, into a cold-blooded execution zone for unarmed Palestinian civilians.

The Israeli army has emptied this area of Palestinian residents and demolished their homes to construct military roads and positions.

While Palestinians are officially prohibited from entering, the reality is more severe than a simple exclusion zone.

"It's military whitewashing," a senior officer in Division 252, which operates in Gaza, explained.

"The division commander designated this area as a 'kill zone.' Anyone who enters is shot," he added.

"The forces in the field call it 'the line of dead bodies'," a commander in Division 252 told Haaretz.

"After shootings, bodies are not collected, attracting packs of dogs who come to eat them,” he said.

 

 

A recently discharged Division 252 officer described the arbitrary nature of this boundary, saying: "We're killing civilians there who are then counted as terrorists."

He also pointed out that shooting Palestinians in this area had turned into a competition for enjoyment among the troops.

"The army spokesperson's announcements about casualty numbers have turned this into a competition between units. If Division 99 kills 150 Palestinians the next unit aims for 200," he explained.

The report exposed the execution of many innocent civilians, including a 16-year-old boy shot as a "terrorist," a woman, and a child carrying a white flag.

In another incident, Israeli forces opened fire on four civilians who approached the area, killing three of them and arresting the fourth.

The detained individual was subjected to humiliating interrogation conditions.

"We put him in a cage set up near our position, stripped off his clothes, and left him there," a soldier recounted.

"Soldiers passing by spat on him. It was disgusting. Finally, a military interrogator came, questioned him briefly while holding a gun to his head, then ordered his release," he added.

According to Haaretz, Division 252 commanders have received expanded powers in Gaza.

Previously, bombing buildings or launching airstrikes required approval from the army chief of staff. Now, such decisions can be made by lower-ranking officers.

The report uncovered a disturbing "flash procedure" allowing any officer to bypass military protocols and order airstrikes within 30 minutes with no approvals needed.

Hidden war criminals
 

Last summer, Yehuda Vach, 45, took charge of Division 252 in Gaza.

According to Haaretz, Vach believes emptying northern Gaza of Palestinians would be his triumph.

"We didn't meet the goal," he admitted in December. His attempt to drive out 250,000 residents clinging to their homes largely failed, with only hundreds crossing south. 

"There are no innocents in Gaza," according to one officer. "Every woman is a scout or a man in disguise,” Vach declared. 

Such sentiment is not uncommon among soldiers. Vach said: "It wasn't just opinion – it became operational doctrine: everyone's a terrorist."

He told his commanders: "In the Middle East, victory comes through conquering territory. We must keep conquering until we win."

According to Haaretz, after reports of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's death, Vach shared disturbing fantasies during a command briefing about mutilating and desecrating the body.

"How they should have stripped him, placed him in the city square, cut up the corpse and washed it in sewage water. He tried to explain how to cut and dismember the body," an officer recalled.

"This wasn't a joke – this was a formal assessment meeting," he added.  

 

 

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