By M10News Foreign Desk
Editing by M10News World Affairs Desk | Contact: info@m10news.com
© 2025 M10News.
A serving Israeli reservist has claimed that his unit in Gaza was given orders to shoot anyone who entered areas arbitrarily defined by Israeli forces as no-go zones, regardless of whether the individual posed a threat.
In a rare on-camera interview with Sky News, the soldier, whose identity was withheld over safety concerns, said: “We have a territory that we are in, and the command is: every one that comes inside needs to die. If they’re inside, they’re dangerous—you need to kill them. No matter who it is.”
The reservist, who has completed three tours in Gaza as part of the Israeli Defence Force’s (IDF) 252nd Division, described the orders as ambiguous and said the engagement rules changed frequently, often depending on the mood or discretion of individual commanders.
He was twice deployed to the Netzarim corridor—a narrow strip of land cut through central Gaza early in the war, used strategically by Israeli forces to divide the enclave and control internal movements.
His unit, he said, would sometimes sleep in homes abandoned by displaced Palestinians and establish an “imaginary line” around them. Anyone—civilian or otherwise—who crossed this invisible boundary risked being shot.
“In one of the houses we stayed in, there was an imaginary line they told us all Gazans knew not to cross. But how can they know?” he asked.
The soldier described seeing unarmed civilians, including teenagers on bicycles and scavengers, shot dead after entering the area. He noted that some soldiers assumed all Gazans were “terrorists,” a view he said was frequently reinforced by their commanders.
“They tell you, ‘If someone comes here, it means he knows he shouldn’t be here. So he must be a terrorist.’ But I don’t think that’s true. It’s just poor people, civilians who don’t have many choices,” he said.
He recounted one incident in which a man was shot after crossing into the restricted area. When another man approached the body, he too was shot. Later, orders shifted to capturing those who entered—but then changed again to shoot on sight.
At another position near the Shujaiya area of Gaza City, the soldier said he witnessed Palestinians collecting scrap metal and solar panels inside the no-go zone. “For sure, no terrorists there,” he said.
He added that commanders had near-complete autonomy in such scenarios. “It’s kind of like the Wild West. Some commanders can decide to commit war crimes and face no consequences.”
The reservist said many Israeli soldiers felt justified in their actions due to the trauma of the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack, which killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 250 hostages taken into Gaza. Around 50 of those hostages remain in captivity, with Israel estimating 30 of them are dead.
“They’d say: ‘These people didn’t do anything to prevent October 7, and they probably enjoyed it. So they deserve to die.’ People don’t feel mercy for them.”
Public criticism of the IDF is rare in Israel, where military service is considered a rite of passage and a core pillar of national identity. The soldier said he chose to speak anonymously because of fears of being branded a traitor or ostracised.
“I think a lot of them felt like they were doing something good. The core of it, in their minds, is that these people aren’t innocent.”
The IDF has not responded to the claims made in the interview. Human rights organisations have repeatedly raised concerns about potential violations of international law during Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Editing by M10News World Affairs Desk | Contact: info@m10news.com
© 2025 M10News.
