Several members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have come forward to reveal that the IDF has created free-fire "kill zones" in Gaza where their superiors allow them to kill civilians who unknowingly enter these areas. These deaths are then counted as IDF kills of Hamas fighters.
To date, the Gaza Health Ministry said nearly 33,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The IDF claims that 9,000 of those deaths are Hamas fighters. However, several permanent and reserve commanders disputed this claim.
"It's amazing to hear the reports after each activity about how many terrorists the forces have killed. After six months of fighting, you don't need to be a great genius to realize that today there are not hundreds or dozens of armed men running around the neighborhood in Khan Yunis or Jabaliya, with weapons in [their] hands, and fighting the IDF. In every combat space, the commanders define extermination areas. No one who is not part of the IDF forces is allowed to enter, in order not to allow damage to the forces on the spot," a reserve officer said.
According to testimonies provided to Israeli paper Haaretz, the IDF designates "extermination areas" within combat zones, where people not affiliated with the military are prohibited from entering. In the beginning, Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was instructing the IDF not to simply kill anyone in the combat zone. But this order has seemingly been countermanded by commanding officers on the ground in Gaza. (Related: Israel accused of targeting aid workers and deliberately provoking famine in Gaza.)
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"From the point of view of the commanders, if we spotted someone in the area we were operating in and he was not one of our forces, it was just shooting to kill. We were specifically told that even in the case where the suspect flees into a building, and there are people in it – then we should open fire to kill the terrorist, even at the cost that the other people may be hurt," a soldier from one of the reserve brigades testified.
Furthermore, soldiers allegedly received instructions to shoot suspects even if there was a risk of high collateral damage, including the potential harm to innocent bystanders.
"For our commanders, if we identified someone in our area of operation who was not part of our forces, we were told to shoot to kill," said one soldier. "We were explicitly told that even if a suspect runs into a building with people in it, we should fire at the building and kill the terrorist, even if other people are hurt."
IDF denies allegations of "kill zones"
In its defense, a spokesperson from the IDF has denied claims that its soldiers established "kill zones" in combat areas.
"The IDF is in the midst of a war against the Hamas terror organization and is acting to foil threats against its forces," said the spokesperson. "The IDF constantly calls on civilians to evacuate intense combat zones and is investing efforts into allowing civilians to evacuate as safely as possible."
"In contrast to claims being made, the IDF has not defined 'kill zones.' Support for this comes from the fact that the IDF has arrested a large number of terrorists or suspected terrorists during the fighting, without inflicting damage in intense combat zones," the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Amos Yadlin, the former head of Israel's military intelligence, who serves as a consultant to members of the government's war cabinet, did not deny the existence of such zones, but argued that the allegations lack "understanding of the rules of engagement in a war against terrorists who don't wear uniform [and] use civilians as human shields."
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