SAFA — Israeli soldiers have described receiving orders to shoot Palestinian civilians without verifying whether they posed a threat, while military commanders expanded acceptable civilian casualty limits and classified some Palestinians killed in attacks as combatants after their deaths, according to an investigation by German magazine Der Spiegel.
The investigation, based on testimony from 10 current and former Israeli soldiers gathered with the assistance of Israeli veterans' organisation Breaking the Silence, details military practices during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
Published on October 11 under the headline "The rule was: Shoot everyone you see," the report describes indiscriminate shooting orders, the reclassification of civilian casualties and military decisions that accepted the possibility of hundreds of civilian deaths in individual strikes.
Israeli Soldiers Describe Orders to Shoot Without Confirming Threats
Several soldiers told Der Spiegel that Israeli military directives allowed troops to fire at Palestinians without establishing whether they posed an immediate threat.
A reservist identified as "David" said soldiers operating in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, were instructed to destroy high-rise buildings and "shoot at anyone they spotted."
Another soldier, Yuval Green, who spoke under his real name, described a visit to Israeli troops by Ezra Yachin, a 90-year-old former fighter associated with the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre.
According to Green, Yachin urged soldiers to show no mercy and kill Palestinian men of fighting age, even when accompanied by children.
The accounts raise serious questions about whether Israeli forces were instructed to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets.
Palestinians Killed in Attacks Reclassified as Combatants
Multiple soldiers described a practice in which Palestinians killed during Israeli attacks were subsequently recorded as combatants, providing retrospective justification for their deaths.
A soldier identified as "Tal" cited the Israeli double airstrike on Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis on August 25, 2025.
The attack killed 22 Palestinians, including five journalists, as well as medical personnel, according to figures cited in the investigation.
Tal said victims were later classified as combatants in Israeli military records, a decision he believed was intended to justify the bombing.
The testimony raises concerns about the accuracy of Israeli military casualty records and whether civilian deaths were deliberately misrepresented.
Military Raised Civilian Casualty Limits for Airstrikes
The investigation also revealed accounts of Israeli commanders significantly increasing the number of civilian deaths considered acceptable when authorising attacks.
A drone operator identified as "Yair" said internal limits on expected civilian casualties for certain targets were raised from five to 20 people per strike.
He added that some attacks received approval "within seconds."
An intelligence officer identified as "Noam" described an Israeli strike targeting a senior figure in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, despite internal estimates that approximately 300 civilians could be killed.
According to the investigation, Israeli military planners routinely used the Hebrew term "NAZA," referring to collateral damage, when calculating expected civilian casualties.
In at least one case, the projected civilian death toll for a single strike reached 500 people.
The testimonies provide insight into how Israeli commanders selected targets, assessed civilian harm and authorised attacks despite anticipating substantial civilian losses.
ICC Warrants and US Sanctions
The revelations come amid continuing international scrutiny of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war.
The United States has imposed sanctions on ICC judges and investigators in response to the court's work.
On October 9, 2026, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced another round of sanctions linked to the court's activities, intensifying tensions between Washington and the Hague-based tribunal.
Human rights advocates say firsthand testimony from Israeli soldiers could provide important evidence when assessing compliance with international humanitarian law, particularly the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.
Although the testimonies do not independently establish individual criminal responsibility, they address issues central to potential legal proceedings, including rules of engagement, target selection, civilian casualty assessments and military recordkeeping.
More Than 74,000 Palestinians Killed in Gaza
According to figures cited in the investigation, Israeli attacks have killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and wounded over 175,000 others in Gaza since October 2023.
Large areas of Gaza's civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, hospitals and essential utilities, have been destroyed or severely damaged.
UN and European assessments have estimated Gaza's recovery and reconstruction needs at approximately $71.4 billion.
Human rights organisations and UN experts have accused Israel of systematic violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes and acts of genocide.
The soldiers' accounts add to mounting evidence cited by rights advocates concerning Israeli military conduct in Gaza, particularly accusations that Palestinian civilians were deliberately targeted, commanders accepted exceptionally high civilian death tolls and military records were used to justify killings after they occurred.
Source : Safa News
