“Israeli” soldiers speak out on the brutal truth of Gaza attack

A group of soldiers who took part in "Israel's" assault in Gaza say widespread abuses were committed against civilians under "permissive" rules of engagement.
According to the first direct testimonies of soldiers who served in the operation, "Israeli" troops were repeatedly encouraged by officers to prioritize their own safety over that of Palestinian civilians when they embarked on the ground invasion of Gaza in January,
The picture that emerges from the testimonies is one of massive fire power to cover advances and rules of engagement that were calculated to ensure, in the words attributed to one battalion commander that "not a hair will fall of a soldier of mine. I am not willing to allow a soldier of mine to risk himself by hesitating. If you are not sure, shoot."
The first eye-witness accounts of the war by serving "Israeli" reservists and conscripts describes the "Israeli" use of Palestinian civilians as "human shields". They detail the killing of at least two civilians, the vandalism, looting and wholesale destruction of Palestinian houses, the use of deadly white phosphorus, bellicose religious advice from army rabbis and what another battalion commander described to his troops as "insane firepower with artillery and air force". The reports amount to the most formidable challenge by "Israelis" since the Gaza war to the military's own considered view that it conducted the operation according to international law and made "an enormous effort to focus its fire only against the terrorists whilst doing the utmost to avoid harming uninvolved civilians".
They are contained in testimonies from about 30 soldiers that were collected by Breaking the Silence, an army veterans organization that seeks to "expose the "Israeli" public to the routine situations of everyday life in the occupied territories". Although the organization has collected hundreds of testimonies from ex-soldiers before, this is the first time that it has done so from serving soldiers so soon after the events they describe.