JERUSALEM — Israeli soldiers have acknowledged that the army killed Palestinian civilians who entered previously targeted buildings in the Gaza Strip, according to a report by the Israeli daily Haaretz.
The report highlighted that the Israeli army often fails to update its list of targets in Gaza or inform ground forces about which structures are no longer being used by fighters. Consequently, civilians seeking shelter in such buildings risk being attacked.
A targeting officer from an Israeli combat brigade revealed that under current guidelines, “an active building will always remain an active building,” even if it had not been used by militants for months.
A senior officer confirmed that buildings previously targeted can be struck again if anyone enters, regardless of their identity or intent.
Testimonies from soldiers also revealed that snipers were sometimes authorized to treat civilians entering specific areas as combatants.
“We’re killing civilians there who are then counted as ‘terrorists,’” a discharged officer from the 252nd Division stated, adding that casualty figures often became a competition between units.
The Haaretz report comes amid ongoing devastation in Gaza, where the Hamas-run health ministry recently announced that over 45,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since the conflict began on October 7, 2023.
While international organizations have found the ministry’s figures credible, Israel disputes the numbers and has not published its own count of civilian deaths during the current conflict.
Israel’s actions in Gaza have drawn widespread condemnation, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants on November 21 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. — Agencies