“The division commander had designated this area as a ‘kill zone.’ Anyone who enters is shot.”
Israeli army officers have revealed that an area along the Netzarim corridor in the Gaza Strip was a designated “kill zone” where “anyone who enters is shot,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday.
A commander in Division 252 said that “forces in the field call it ‘the line of dead bodies,” because “after shootings, bodies are not collected, attracting packs of dogs who come to eat them.”
“In Gaza, people know that wherever you see these dogs, that’s where you must not go,” the commander is quoted as saying.
Although Palestinians are officially prohibited from entering the area, the paper said, it is more than just a military exclusion zone, with one officer calling it “military whitewashing.”
The officer said that “the division commander had designated this area as a ‘kill zone.’ Anyone who enters is shot.”
No Exceptions
Seven kilometres wide, the Netzarim corridor which separates northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged enclave has been “emptied” of Palestinians and their homes demolished for the construction of “military roads and military positions.”
“For the division, the kill zone extends as far as a sniper can see,” another officer confirmed.
Palestinians have been saying this for 440 days but now that Haaretz says it maybe it will be believed. pic.twitter.com/MqbWFF0c73
— Diana Buttu (@dianabuttu) December 19, 2024
And there were no exceptions, according to one soldier.
He quoted one commander as saying “Anyone crossing the line is a terrorist, no exceptions, no civilians. Everyone’s a terrorist.”
Another officer reportedly said “The order was clear: ‘Anyone crossing the bridge into the (Netzarim) corridor gets a bullet in the head.’”
‘Kill Ten More’
The officer recalled an incident where “guards” spotted someone approaching from the south.
“We responded as if it was a large militant raid. We took positions and just opened fire. I’m talking about dozens of bullets, maybe more. For about a minute or two, we just kept shooting at the body. People around me were shooting and laughing,” the officer said.
Israelis who serve in Gaza confess to Haaretz that anyone, any age, who crosses their imaginary line in the contested “Neztarim” is shot to death https://t.co/3cLK3jmINc
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) December 19, 2024
Thereafter, the soldiers “approached the blood-covered body, photographed it, and took the phone. He was just a boy, maybe 16.”
He said the battalion commander “congratulated us for killing a terrorist, saying he hoped we’d kill ten more tomorrow.”
“We’re killing civilians there who are then counted as terrorists,” said a recently discharged officer, adding that it has been turned into “a competition between units.”
“If Division 99 kills 150 (people), the next unit aims for 200,” he added.
‘A Lawless Space’
A senior reserve commander who recently returned from the corridor told Haaretz that “Calling ourselves the world’s most moral army absolves soldiers who know exactly what we’re doing.”
“It means ignoring that for over a year, we’ve operated in a lawless space where human life holds no value,” he added.
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Another soldier described witnessing four unarmed Palestinians walking, spotted by a surveillance drone, after which a tank advanced and opened fire with its machine gun.
“Hundreds of bullets,” he recalled, adding “the sight haunts me.” Three were killed immediately while the fourth survived and raised his hands in surrender, said the report.
“We put him in a cage set up near our position, stripped off his clothes, and left him there,” the soldier recounted. “Soldiers passing by spat on him. It was disgusting. Finally, a military interrogator came, questioned him briefly while holding a gun to his head, then ordered his release.”
The man “had simply been trying to reach his uncles in northern Gaza.”
After a day or two, the three bodies were buried by a bulldozer in the sand.
‘Flash Procedure’
A reservist in another unit, Division 99, also described “an adult adult with two children crossing the forbidden line.” They appeared unarmed, he said, and were “under complete surveillance with the the drone and weapons aimed at them – they couldn’t do anything.”
“Suddenly we heard a massive explosion. A combat helicopter had fired a missile at them. Who thinks it’s legitimate to fire a missile at children? And with a helicopter? This is pure evil,” he said.
[Brigadier General Yehuda] Vach declared “there are no innocents in Gaza,” according to one officer. While such sentiment isn’t uncommon among soldiers, with Vach “it wasn’t just opinion – it became operational doctrine: everyone’s a terrorist.” https://t.co/1XQ4iOekMp pic.twitter.com/ataCbi0nBW
— Adil Haque (@AdHaque110) December 19, 2024
The report said that Division 252 “found ways around air force oversight” which used “the flash procedure,” an officer told Haaretz.
It was designed for forces under or evacuating casualties, and “guarantees an airstrike within 30 minutes with no approvals needed. Any officer from battalion commander up could invoke it.”
‘Everyone’s a Terrorist’
Another officer said Brigadier General Yehuda Vach, who took charge of the unit, had declared “there are no innocents in Gaza.”
The officer said that while it was a common sentiment among soldiers, Vach’s view was that “it wasn’t just opinion – it became operational doctrine: everyone’s a terrorist.”
Under Vach, the “kill zone” boundary constantly shifted; “500 meters here today, 500 meters there tomorrow,” another officer said. Anyone entering the zone was declared “a terrorist conducting reconnaisance,” said the report.
With Halevi’s Approval – Haaretz Reveals Systematic ‘Use of Human Shields in Gaza’
“Every woman is a scout, or a man in disguise,” an officer explained, adding that “Vach even decided anyone on a bicycle could be killed, claiming cyclists were terrorists’ collaborators.”
A commander recalled Vach as first talking about “expelling everyone south, thinking he’d implement the Generals’ Plan alone.” Vach sought alternatives when that did not work, but none materialized, said the report.
Vach also reportedly shared “disturbing fantasies during a command briefing about mutilating and desecrating the body” of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar following his killing in Gaza.
Division 252, under Vach, left the corridor in early November but was set to return in March, said Haaretz.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
