AN IDF soldier has said he was often ordered to shoot Palestinians in no-go zones, regardless of whether they posed a threat.
Speaking to Sky News, the Israeli reservist – who served three tours of duty in Gaza – said troops killed civilians arbitrarily with the criteria of opening fire depending on the commander.
"We have a territory that we are in, and the commands are: everyone that comes inside needs to die," he told the broadcaster.
"If they're inside, they're dangerous, you need to kill them. No matter who it is."
He described how – during a time he was posted to the Netzarim corridor – he and his fellow soldiers marked an invisible boundary around a house they slept in and defined a no-go zone for Gazans.
"In one of the houses that we had been in, we had the big territory. This was the closest to the citizens' neighbourhood, with people inside. And there's an imaginary line that they tell us all the Gazan people know it, and that they know they are not allowed to pass it," he said. "But how can they know?"
Those who crossed into this area were mostly shot, he said.
The IDF soldier added: "It was like pretty much everyone that comes into the territory, and it might be like a teenager riding his bicycle.”
He went on: "They don't really talk to you about civilians that may come to your place. Like I was in the Netzarim road, and they say if someone comes here, it means that he knows he shouldn't be there, and if he still comes, it means he's a terrorist.
"This is what they tell you. But I don't really think it's true. It's just poor people, civilians that don't really have too many choices."
He also said that commanders had a lot of discretion as to how to conduct themselves and their unit.
"Every commander can choose for himself what he does. So it's kind of like the Wild West. So, some commanders can really decide to do war crimes and bad things and don't face the consequences of that,” the soldier said – adding that many believe there are no innocent people in Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7 attack.
"They'd say: 'Yeah, but these people didn't do anything to prevent October 7, and they probably had fun when this was happening to us. So they deserve to die'.
"People don't feel mercy for them."
The soldier also expressed remorse to Sky News, saying: "I kind of feel like I took part in something bad, and I need to counter it with something good that I do, by speaking out, because I am very troubled about what I took and still am taking part of, as a soldier and citizen in this country.
"I think the war is... a very bad thing that is happening to us, and to the Palestinians, and I think it needs to be over.”
He added: "I think in [the] Israeli community, it's very hard to criticise itself and its army. A lot of people don't understand what they are agreeing to. They think the war needs to happen, and we need to bring the hostages back, but they don't understand the consequences.
"I think a lot of people, if they knew exactly what's happening, it wouldn't go down very well for them, and they wouldn't agree with it. I hope that by speaking of it, it can change how things are being done."
In a statement to the broadcaster, the IDF said it "operates in strict accordance with its rules of engagement and international law, taking feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm".
"The IDF operates against military targets and objectives, and does not target civilians or civilian objects," the statement went on.
"Reports and complaints regarding the violation of international law by the IDF are transferred to the relevant authorities responsible for examining exceptional incidents that occurred during the war."
