Soldiers criticise Israeli actions in Gaza

[ukhudshanskiy]

A collection of first-person accounts by soldiers who served in Israel’s recent Gaza offensive, released on Wednesday, claims that the military adopted loose rules of engagement in civilian areas during the conflict. The assault left more than 1,300 people dead. “The goal was to carry out an operation with the least possible casualties for the army, without it even asking itself what the price would be for the other side,” said one of the 27 ­soldiers who gave testimony. Like the others, he spoke on condition of anonymity.
Yehuda Shaul, a founder of Breaking the Silence, said the fighting in Gaza had led many reservists to question continuing their army service. “There is this crisis of faith, with people saying, ‘this is not what we signed up for, this is not the IDF we know’.”