Israel media report accuses troops of indiscriminate killing of Gaza civilians

AFP | Jerusalem

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A leading Israeli newspaper, citing unnamed soldiers serving in Gaza, described indiscriminate killings of Palestinian civilians in the territory’s Netzarim Corridor, prompting a firm rejection Friday from the military.

Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli daily that has faced severe criticism from the country’s right-wing government, quoted soldiers, career officers and reservists who said commanders were given unprecedented authority to operate in the Gaza Strip.

They alleged commanders had ordered or allowed the killing of unarmed women, children and men in the Netzarim Corridor, a seven-kilometre-wide (4.3-mile-wide) strip of land that cuts across Gaza from Israel to the Mediterranean, and which has been turned into a military zone.

The report quoted an officer who recalled an incident in which a commander had announced that 200 militants were killed, when actually “only 10 were confirmed as known Hamas operatives”.

Soldiers meanwhile told Haaretz they received questionable orders to open fire on “anyone who enters” Netzarim.

“Anyone crossing the line is a t*******t -- no exceptions, no civilians. Everyone’s a t*******t,” a soldier quoted a battalion commander as saying.

The soldiers also described how division commanders received “expanded powers” allowing them to bomb buildings or launch air strikes that previously required approval from the army’s top echelons.