Israel's military criticised for indiscriminate firing in Gaza war

Israel's military fired indiscriminately as a matter of policy during last summer's war in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli non-governmental group has claimed, underlining a "drastic change" in its combat norms that led to the deaths of many innocent civilians.

Breaking the Silence made the allegations in a report published on Monday based on interviews with more than 60 Israel Defence Forces officers and soldiers who took part in Operation Protective Edge, Israel's 50-day war against Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza in July and August 2014.

According to the group, soldiers were given misleading information that certain areas had been cleared of civilians. As such, when they entered to pursue militants they were given wide leeway to fire at will. "The soldiers were briefed by their commanders to fire at every person they identified in a combat zone, since the working assumption was that every person in the field was an enemy," the report claims.

Its findings will raise further questions about the conduct of the war by the IDF, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as "the most moral army in the world".

Operation Protective Edge was the most destructive of the three wars Israel has fought against Hamas since 2009, in terms of both lives lost and physical devastation.

More than 2,200 people died, nearly all of them Palestinians, including many women and children. Entire city blocks were flattened by Israel's military during the operation, intended to destroy tunnels and rocket-launching infrastructure used by Hamas and other militant groups. Israel's conduct of the war brought condemnation around the world.

Before beginning combat operations, the IDF leafleted neighbourhoods it planned to enter and called residents, telling them to evacuate.

However, journalists, humanitarian workers and others who were there documented the deaths of many civilians - including women and children - in the densely populated coastal territory, where options for evacuation were limited. UN schools, mosques, and other civilian targets were hit during the fighting.

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Another soldier quoted by Breaking the Silence said: "The rules of engagement are pretty identical: Anything inside [Gaza] is a threat, the area has to be 'sterilised, empty of people - and if we don't see anyone waving a white flag, screaming 'I give up' or something - then he's a threat and there's authorisation to open fire."

The IDF, responding to the report, said it was committed to investigating all credible claims raised by NGOs, media, and others about its conduct during Operation Protective Edge.

However, it said that Breaking the Silence had declined to share any of the evidence or testimony it collected from soldiers with it before publishing. This, it said, prevented the IDF from investigating any alleged wrongdoings uncovered in the report itself, and "therefore we are unable to respond to the allegations raised".

The IDF has its own internal body designed to probe accusations of misconduct by troops, the Military Advocate General. In March the body said that it had opened six investigations into alleged criminal acts by Israeli troops during the war, and another two that it had closed.

The Palestinians in April joined the UN International Criminal Court, which has opened a preliminary investigation into whether to open a formal criminal probe into war crimes or crimes against humanity against any party to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The prospect of war crimes investigations being opened against IDF commanders or soldiers has alarmed and upset many Israelis.

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