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Journalism of Courage
The Israel Army gave its soldiers in the Gaza war the licence to kill with the commanders issuing instructions to shoot first and worry later,an activist group,made up of veteran troops,charged in a report on Wednesday.
The testimony of 30 soldiers shows that the Armys goal was to minimise its own casualties to ensure Israeli public support for the offensive and that they did not bother much on sorting out civilians from the combatants,Breaking the Silence (BTS),releasing print and video testimonies of soldiers,said in the report.
Better hit an innocent than hesitate to target an enemy, is the way an unidentified soldier presented his understanding of instructions repeated at pre-invasion briefings and during the 22-day operation in December-January. We did not get instructions to shoot at anything that moved, said soldier,but we were generally instructed: if you feel threatened,shoot.
One of the soldiers said the Army needlessly used powerful weapons such as white phosphorous,an illuminating agent that can cause severe burns,and mortars in the conflict.
The 112-page scathing report by the activist group includes testimonies of 30 soldiers who served in all sectors of the operation.
The Army in its response said: A considerable portion of the testimony is based on rumours… Most of the incidents relate to anonymous testimony lacking in identifying details,and accordingly it is not possible to check the allegations.
