IDF said to warn dozens of soldiers against travel abroad over war crimes claims
Military finds anti-Israel groups filed complaints against some 30 troops who served in Gaza Strip; officials concerned images posted to social media could be used as evidence
The Israel Defense Forces warned some 30 soldiers and officers who fought in the Gaza Strip to avoid traveling abroad after anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian groups filed complaints against them for alleged war crimes, according to a Wednesday report.
In eight cases, soldiers who did travel abroad were immediately told to return over fears they would be arrested or questioned by the country they were visiting, the Ynet news site reported. The soldiers were visiting Cyprus, Slovenia, and the Netherlands.
The IDF does not bar soldiers from traveling abroad, but it does conduct a “risk assessment” for troops who served in Gaza before approving their request, the report said.
IDF reservists who fought in Gaza are being advised to first check with the Foreign Ministry regarding the level of danger in any country they wish to visit.
Officials are concerned that aside from local legal actions, some senior officers could face prosecution at the International Criminal Court, which last month issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a massive cross-border attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken as hostages to Gaza.
The declared goal of Israel’s military response is to destroy Hamas, ensure that no similar attack happens again, and recover the hostages, of whom 97 remain in captivity, though dozens are thought to have been killed.
IDF sources told Ynet that there was a concern that individual processes against lower-ranking soldiers and officers traveling abroad could be based on the ruling of the Hague court and on evidence gathered from social media or media reports.
Soldiers have been identified from videos and images they posted online that were taken during their service in Gaza, even though from the start of the ground operation in the Strip the IDF instructed troops not to publish such images amid concerns the material could be used against them in war crimes proceedings.
Anti-Israel activists are carefully monitoring the social media accounts of soldiers who have posted such material in case they also publish images from trips abroad, at which point the activists plan to file local charges against them, Ynet reported.
Soldiers who are planning to travel abroad are being advised to not post any images that give away their location.
IDF legal experts have assessed that the ICC will not go after lower-ranking officers and soldiers who were carrying out the orders of the political leadership, the report said. In addition, the ICC is not likely to involve itself due to the principle of “complementarity,” under which a democratic country such as Israel is trusted to prosecute criminal activity though its own judicial system.
However, officials are concerned that senior commanders such as the IDF’s northern and southern command chiefs, or IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, could be targeted by the ICC, the report said, though no such moves have yet been seen.
Israel will give full support via its local diplomatic offices to any soldier who is arrested or detained for questioning, or who feels threatened by activists while abroad, IDF sources said.
The threat of legal action against soldiers could increase as the fighting in Gaza dwindles and access to the Strip is granted to humanitarian groups and foreign media. With that in mind, an inter-ministerial team has been put together, led by the justice and foreign ministries along with the international law department of the IDF.
The team, which includes representation from the Shin Bet security service and the Mossad intelligence agency, makes assessments based on where a soldier served and the chances of them being arrested or detained in each country.
A key factor in the assessment is which countries say they will uphold the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, IDF sources told Ynet.
In addition, Israel has hired the services of local attorneys in dozens of countries around the world to keep an eye on legislation on their own turf relating to Israel and the war. The attorneys have also been asked to watch out for legal action against Israeli officials or members of the military and will defend such figures if necessary.
The sheer volume of available material that could be used against soldiers was highlighted Tuesday by the Washington Post, which published an in-depth investigation into videos posted by Israeli soldiers during 14 months of war that showed actions and behavior that could violate both IDF orders and international law.
“Videos and photographs have repeatedly shown [IDF] forces demolishing entire buildings, including homes and schools, as well as looting and torching them,” said the report. “Other visuals have Israeli soldiers posing next to dead bodies and calling for the extermination and expulsion of Palestinians.”
Exclusive:
Documentation showing the systematic torching of Palestinian homes by Israeli soldiers for no purpose as reported in Haaretz below.
The obtained footage below was taken in Burej Refugee Camp, Central Gaza yesterday by an Israeli soldier on social media page. https://t.co/HsIhQ0sYFy pic.twitter.com/HeWCqtKXbG
— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) January 31, 2024
The outlet said it reviewed and verified 120 photos and videos from among the thousands posted to social media by IDF soldiers, “a vast cache that gives a rare and troubling view of how some elements of the Israeli military have conducted themselves” throughout the war.
The Post also interviewed IDF reservists who said they felt there was a sense of revenge motivating many of their comrades in Gaza.
Some of the videos made light of the destruction of civilian homes, which military necessity could justify in a range of scenarios in urban combat. Other videos showed reservists filming Palestinian corpses in footage meant to be humorous or vengeful.
The Post published the videos without hiding the soldiers’ faces. Many of the social media accounts identified in the report were no longer accessible to the public on Wednesday.
Israeli military ethicist Asa Kasher called such posts by soldiers “a breakdown of not just military discipline, but a break in understanding what it takes to represent the IDF and Israel.”
Videos published by the Post showed soldiers praising the demolition of buildings while threatening the same fate for all of Gaza. Others showed soldiers vandalizing private property and possessions in Palestinian homes, pictures of taunting graffiti, or soldiers horsing around amid the destruction of civilian areas. Other videos and photos showed soldiers playing with women’s underwear they found in Gazan homes, a phenomenon that has been reported on in the past. Some also extolled the idea of Israel reestablishing settlements in Gaza that it dismantled when it unilaterally pulled out in 2005.
Soldiers who spoke to the Post described how troops would set fire to buildings after they had finished using them for military operations, a practice that has been reported before and that the IDF has said is sometimes needed to destroy infrastructure used by terrorists.
The IDF said in a statement to the Post that it destroys “Hamas infrastructure and other military targets using approved and appropriate means.”
However, it conceded that “the burning of buildings without a military necessity is contrary to the IDF orders and the values of the IDF” and said that “allegations of conduct that do not fall within IDF approved directives and protocols will be reviewed.”
Some soldiers contacted by the Post about the content they had posted defended their actions or disagreed that troops had humiliated Palestinians.
Shimon Zuckerman, who posted videos of building demolitions, said he was told by the army to stop publishing such footage.
But he told the Post, “I took these videos to raise the morale of the people at home, and I don’t regret it for a moment.”
Elishav Libman, a soldier whose brother was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival near Gaza on October 7, 2023, and who has posted videos and images of graffiti from Gaza, told the Post, “Ultimately, my target audience is the citizens of Israel. I know what gives our citizens strength.”
Legal experts who were shown videos by the Post said that the footage amounted to evidence of possible humanitarian law violations.
The IDF said disciplinary talks have been held with some of the soldiers involved in incidents that “deviated from IDF values and principles and contradicted regulations.” It also said that if criminal conduct is involved, the military police are called in.
In February, IDF chief Halevi sent a missive to troops instructing them that the army is “not on a killing spree,” not acting out of revenge, and not carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip.
“We act like human beings and, unlike our enemy, maintain our humanity. We must be careful not to use force where it is not required, to distinguish between a terrorist and those who are not, not to take anything that is not ours — a souvenir or weapons — and not to film revenge videos,” Halevi said.
The same month, the IDF’s top lawyer, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, issued a warning to commanders against illegal actions by troops in the Gaza Strip.
The comments came weeks after The New York Times published its own article, “What Israeli Soldiers’ Videos Reveal: Cheering Destruction and Mocking Gazans,” which showed photos and videos of Israeli soldiers making derogatory comments about Palestinians, vandalizing civilian property and smiling for the cameras while driving bulldozers and using explosives.
Washington concerned over IDF base-building in Gaza
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the US said it was concerned by a New York Times report saying that the IDF has significantly bolstered its presence in Gaza, constructing several dozen new military bases in and around the Netzarim Corridor in the Strip’s center in recent months.
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a press briefing that if the reporting is accurate, the IDF’s actions “certainly would be inconsistent” with US policy regarding the “day after” in Gaza, which opposes any reduction to Gaza’s territory, the continued military control of the Strip by Israel and the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
Patel noted that the reporting has not been corroborated by Israel and said he would leave it to Jerusalem to comment further on the matter.
Some far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have called for resettling the Gaza Strip and thinning out the Gazan population by encouraging emigration.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
