IDF TOLD TO SHOOT ON SIGHT IN GAZA

Jerusalem Israeli forces may have committed “grave violations” of the international laws of warfare during last summer’s Gaza conflict, according to the accounts of soldiers who fought in it. A collection of testimonies published Monday by Breaking the Silence, an NGO run by former Israeli soldiers, describes lax rules of engagement that allowed troops to open fire in built-up areas, leading to mass civilian casualties and devastating damage to homes. Soldiers assumed they were entering areas cleared of inhabitants after the army launched its offensive, Operation Protective Edge, last July. Troops were told to target any Palestinian as a “terrorist” and to shoot to kill. In reality, many residents had remained behind, despite military officials having dropped leaflets or made phone calls ordering inhabitants to evacuate. Israeli forces also made devastating use of such inaccurate missiles as cannon and mortars, causing widespread destruction and breaching two basic principles of the law of war — distinction and proportionality — according to Michael Sfard, Breaking the Silence’s legal adviser. The NGO, which based its 136-page report on testimonies from more than 60 soldiers and officers, said its findings painted a “very disconcerting picture” about Israeli forces’ conduct in Gaza and cast “grave doubt on the IDF’s (Israeli Defence Force) ethics.”