Confessions of an Israeli Soldier: We Destroyed Homes in Gaza for “Trivial Reasons”

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An Israeli reserve soldier who participated in the fighting in Gaza and later chose to leave has revealed violations committed by his fellow soldiers during the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which has lasted for about ten months.

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Yuval Green, a 26-year-old Israeli paratrooper who decided to leave the service, told CNN that Israeli soldiers deliberately destroyed and looted Palestinian homes in Gaza “out of a desire for revenge” rather than for military purposes.

Green is one of many Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza before quitting and publicly criticizing Israel’s conduct of the war. He spoke about the behavior and actions of his comrades during their service in Gaza and the day he decided to inform his superiors that he could no longer be part of his unit.

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Green said he had planned to leave the Israeli army before the October 7 attack due to his behavior in the occupied West Bank. He had planned to announce his decision to his comrades but “after the Hamas attack, he felt he was obliged to support them as they prepared for war.”

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He continued: “When the Hamas attack happened, it was hard for me to tell them at that moment that I was not ready to join them, so I decided to join my friends. I didn’t know what was the right thing to do.”

“Demonization” of Gaza Residents

Green added to CNN that he had served around Gaza in November of the previous year, before being sent into the Gaza Strip on December 2, where he spent 51 days in Khan Younis, in the south.

He said that “the anger felt by Israelis after October 7 and calls for revenge were publicly visible in my unit. Soldiers were waiting to be sent to Gaza,” describing it as a “demonization” of Palestinians.

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He added: “In the days leading up to our entry into Khan Younis, there was a growing atmosphere of demonization of the Gaza residents,” adding that he had heard people “talking about killing and destroying Gaza completely. The idea of razing the sector became a legitimate discussion topic.”

The Israeli military claims that the rules of engagement established for Gaza have been rigorously reviewed, but Green asserts that commanders on the ground “succumbed to the soldiers’ wishes to reduce restrictions on their behavior, compared to previous incursions.”

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The former soldier added that army commanders would say things like: “This time we will have no limits in Gaza,” and claimed he had witnessed “unnecessary” destruction of Palestinian homes and facilities.

Green said: “We saw a lot of destruction that was not necessarily related to military reasons. (The soldiers) destroyed houses because they thought they had to get revenge for what happened on October 7.”

He continued: “I can tell you 100% that we destroyed houses for trivial reasons. We don’t care about the lives of Palestinians. You can’t imagine it. Entire cities destroyed.”

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Looting Allegations

Green also said that one of the things that disturbed him most was seeing soldiers in his unit looting Palestinian homes.

He told CNN: “You see the looting by your peers all the time. It was very hard for me to see. Soldiers were taking souvenirs from Palestinian homes, which I think is directly related to the demonization we saw before entering Khan Younis.”

He continued: “They were looting necklaces and drawing on the walls, leaving behind completely unnecessary damage in the houses.”

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When asked if he thought the Israeli commanders tolerated this behavior, Green replied that they “officially do not approve it, but they are incapable of stopping it.”

He added: “I think the highest commanders in the army think it shouldn’t happen, the looting or the graffiti, but I don’t think the army has the ability to stop it, and I think it all depends on the soldiers on the ground. You can’t stop a soldier from doing anything.”

Seeing the looting, Green said he confronted his comrades, which led to “a lot of disputes” from them, while he was unable to influence his superiors to act to stop it.

He said: “The commanders couldn’t control our actions.”

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Decision to Leave

What pushed Green to decide to leave his unit was an order from his commander to burn a house where the soldiers were stationed.

He explained: “At one point, my section commander ordered us to burn the house where we were stationed. I went to him and asked: why are we doing this? He gave me some reasons, and I think those reasons were not strong enough.”

He added: “They were military reasons but mixed with reasons for revenge. Now, I think this is what’s happening in Gaza. Israel is doing things because it needs to achieve a military goal, but all of this is mixed with our need, or Israel’s, for revenge.”

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He continued: “I told him I wasn’t ready to participate in this. I’m not going to destroy a house belonging to families who will end up homeless. I’m going to leave,” and he left immediately with the next vehicle leaving the area.

Green said he decided to speak publicly to pressure the Israeli government to accept a ceasefire and reach an agreement for the hostages, but Israel has not stopped accusing Hamas’s leadership of preventing an agreement from being reached.

The former soldier added: “I think there is a concrete agreement on the table now, and Hamas accepts it, and it makes sense. These agreements say that all hostages will be released, but Israel does not want to end the war. It’s madness.”

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Green noted that Israel’s refusal to accept the agreement had caused the deaths of the hostages, stating: “I saw it from the inside.”

In the same context, Green confirmed that more than 10 hostages had been killed directly due to Israeli bombings.

Concerns and Criticisms

In June, Green, along with 40 other reserve soldiers, signed a letter refusing to serve in Rafah, in southern Gaza. He is one of only three soldiers to have publicly revealed his position, and his family and friends have expressed concerns about his decisions.

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He said: “It’s clear that it’s extremely controversial in Israel, but I was ready to sacrifice my privacy and speak about such a delicate subject because I think right now it’s a matter of life or death.”

Green continued: “People criticize me for this, and I’ve heard people say they fear I’ll be harmed. It seemed very strange because I went into Gaza and risked my life literally, but now people are more afraid that I’ll be harmed just for expressing my opinion. That’s part of the problem in our current situation.”

How Did the Military Respond?

In response to Green’s statements, the Israeli military said that “its actions and operational activity in particular are governed by Israeli law and international law, which are reflected, among other things, in the rules of engagement among other military orders.”

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It added: “Military commanders are guided by its values and direct soldiers on the battlefield in a professional manner. When events contrary to the expected behavior occur, commanders address them appropriately.”

The military continued: “In some cases, troops are instructed to act to eliminate threats surrounding buildings located in the Gaza Strip. Buildings are destroyed by appropriate means.”

It mentioned that “actions carried out otherwise, and not due to operational needs, are against military orders and values and are examined.”

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It also stated that “the appropriation of property that does not conform to military orders is prohibited by law and does not conform to the values of the Israeli military, and incidents where troops behave in ways that are not consistent with orders and the law are examined, and we will continue to examine them.”