The American newspaper The Washington Post revealed that many Israeli soldiers documented the atrocities they committed during the war of extermination waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip, and a reserve soldier who served in Gaza confirmed that there was a strong feeling of revenge against everyone among the Israeli soldiers.
The newspaper confirmed that it had verified the authenticity of more than 120 photos and video clips of the extermination war in Gaza that were published between October 2023 and October 2024, most of which were documented by soldiers or shared publicly through their personal accounts on social media.
It stated – in an investigative report published on Tuesday – that although the Israeli army issued orders to the forces in Gaza not to film and publish revenge videos, these video materials continued to appear on the Internet throughout the period of the extermination war.
The result, according to the Washington Post, is a huge collection of thousands of photos and videos that provide a rare and disturbing look at how members of the Israeli army behaved during one of the bloodiest and most destructive wars in modern history.
According to the newspaper, the atrocities documented by photos and videos include widespread destruction of residential buildings and schools, burning them, and acts of looting, accompanied by a festive atmosphere by the soldiers committing them.
Video clips and photos also show Israeli soldiers taking memorial photos next to the bodies of their victims, and writing slogans calling for the annihilation of Palestinians and their expulsion from Gaza.
One video documented reserve soldiers from the 9208th Battalion of the Negev Brigade bombing a residential area in northern Gaza using tank shells and machine gun fire, during their unit’s withdrawal from there late last year.
One of the soldiers in the unit posted a video clip of the 4-minute bombing on Facebook, writing in the caption: “Farewell bombing.”
Interviews
The newspaper also said that it conducted interviews with 7 Israeli soldiers about their experiences in Gaza, and this showed that the atrocities committed by the soldiers in the Gaza Strip were not only individual actions, but in some cases – such as burning homes – they were under direct orders from the commanders.
The newspaper quoted Michael Ziv (29 years old), a reservist who served in the Jerusalem Brigade stationed in the Netzarim Corridor, which divides Gaza into two parts, as saying that “the feeling of revenge is very, very strong among everyone.”
According to the newspaper, Ziv said that the soldiers had a lot of fun burning homes in the Gaza Strip, although the military purpose of blowing up homes there was not clear.
He added that the unit in which he served set fire to at least 20 homes within 5 months, noting that the discipline system that holds soldiers responsible for their actions had not been activated.
Two Israeli soldiers also told the newspaper that they would not return to military service in Gaza after the behavior they witnessed from their colleagues.
Evidence of violations of international law
The newspaper quoted experts in international law who viewed the video materials as saying that some of them may be used as evidence of possible violations of international humanitarian law, especially the ongoing investigations against Israel and its leaders in the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
Commenting on the video material, Asa Kasher, an academic who helped draft the IDF’s code of ethics, said: “This is not just a breakdown in military discipline, but rather a loss of understanding of what it takes to represent the IDF and Israel.”
According to the newspaper, the Israeli army confirmed to it that it had held disciplinary talks with some of the soldiers involved in publishing the videos, but claimed that these incidents “represent exceptions and do not reflect the army’s values.”
However, the army did not disclose additional details or clear steps to prevent the recurrence of such acts.
With American support, Israel has been waging a genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in about 150,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing persons, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the… The worst humanitarian disasters in the world.