CAIRO — From cold-blooded killing to abusing innocent civilians and ransacking property, Israeli soldiers have given damning, first-hand accounts of the wanton crimes perpetrated during the recent Gaza war.
"When we entered a house, we were supposed to bust down the door and start shooting inside and just go up story by story," one of the soldiers said in a testimony cited on Thursday, March 19, by the Yediot Aharonot daily.
"Each story, if we identify a person, we shoot them. I asked myself – how is this reasonable?
"I call that murder."
The soldiers, alumni of the Yitzhak Rabin military academy, gathered last month in a session to discuss their experiences in the 22-day Gaza war.
Their accounts were published Thursday on the academy's journal and excerpts from the discussions appeared on the front pages of the leading Israeli dailies.
The soldiers talked about the widespread, unwarranted opening of fire on Palestinian civilians and the destruction of their property.
One soldier recounted the story of an elderly woman who was crossing a main route when she was shot dad by soldiers.
"I do know that my officer sent people to the roof in order to take her out.
"It was cold-blooded murder."
More than 1,300 Palestinians, half of them women and children, were killed and 5,450 wounded in the 22-day Operation Cast Lead.
The air, land and sea attacks wrecked havoc on the infrastructure of the densely-populated enclave, leaving tens of thousands of homes and other buildings in ruins.
Worthless Lives
Another soldier recalled an incident in which a mother and her two kids were gunned down.
"There was a house with a family inside…We put them in a room. Later we left the house and another platoon entered it, and a few days after that there was an order to release the family," he said.
"The platoon commander let the family go and told them to go to the right. One mother and her two children didn't understand and went to the left."
When an Israeli sharpshooter saw the woman and children approaching, he opened fire.
"He shot them straight away…what happened is that in the end he killed them."
The squad leader said the sniper ever felt regret for killing the innocent civilians.
"I don't think he felt too bad about it.
"The lives of Palestinians, let's say, is something very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers."
Shocked
The shocking accounts triggered a storm in Israel.
"This is evidence, first hand, of what most Israelis would prefer to repress," commented Haaretz.
The Israeli daily noted that it's not the first time such horrific accounts of abuses against Palestinians during the war emerge.
"There is a continuity of testimony from different sectors that reflects a disturbing and depressing picture."
Human rights organizations pressed for action based on the new testimonies.
"Until today, about six weeks since the end of military operations in Gaza, not a single criminal investigation has begun despite hundreds of testimonies which raise suspicion about violations of international law and of war crimes," the Yesh Din rights group said in a statement.
The Israeli advocacy group pressed for an independent inquiry into the soldiers shocking stories.
"The testimonies that were published today in the Israeli media cast a shadow not just over the specific soldiers who carried out these deeds but also on high-ranking officials who gave the command to open fire," it stressed.
"If Israel does not investigate its own offences, other countries will have to."
