Breaking the Silence - The Gaza Offensive

8/8/2019 Breaking the Silence - The Gaza Offensive

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www.breakingthesilence.org.il

OperatiOn Cast Lead


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Bkg h slc cv m obl hough h gou uo

of vul fouo clug: th Moh Fouo, h nw ilFu, iCCO, siVMO, Oxfm GB, mco ol, Ch a (UK), h

Bh emby tl avv, h My of Fog aff of h nhl,

h sh agcy fo iol dvlom Cooo h eU.

th bookl w ouc ulc hk o fug fom h eU, h

Govm of h nhl, h sh agcy fo iol

dvlom Cooo.

th co oo x h bookl o o h eU, h

Govm of h nhl, o sh agcy fo iol dvlom

Cooo, olly h obly of Bkg h slc.


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svl moh hv c h of Oo C L Gz,

my il ll o w of wh lly h h. Fo lck of bc fc,

we are forced to accept unconditionally the positions of the ofcial bodies, which

u u h of y oub, h idF couc w full ublc

ccoubly ucll fo. th ublco clu h mo of ou

hy comb who ook h oo ly 2009. th mo h h w gh ov h fw moh fom ol who v

ll co of h oo. th mjoy of h ol who ok wh u

ll vg h gul mly u u o u h

mol oo of h idF. alhough h ublco o o clm o ov

bo, comhv vw of ll h ol h u who c ou h

oo, h v ough o bg o quo h cbly of h

ofcial IDF versions.

There are many signicant gaps between the testimonies we gathered. Thesemo cb u of h nghbo pocu of wh hohou

mmuo ly hb ghbohoo, mv uco of bulg

ul o y c h o il foc, mv ul of ggm

h l o h kllg of oc. W lo h fom h ol bou h gl

atmosphere that accompanied the ghting, and of harsh statements made by junior

and senior ofcers that attest to the ongoing moral deterioration of the society and

h my. dug h oo, h mly bb m ow cobuo

o h xo wh ouc coovl lgou olcl

o u h uc of h idF wh blg.

Although certain features characterized this operation as a whole, signicant

ffc c b fou mog h vou goghc u. such

vo lo h ublco.

i h fw moh, h idF oko h go o g lgh o ov

h f h w y mol oblm wh h w ll, hy w mly o

h lvl of h lqu ol, h h w, ymc u. tho of h ublco ov h w o lg wh h flu of vul

ol, o flu h lco of vlu mly o

ymc lvl. th idF co of uch hom o l ol

cc u o lc h obly olly o vul ol o h gou

o v kg obly fo h ym ou vlu comm

flu. th mo of h ol h collco xo h h mv

uc blow o h fucu cvl of h Gz w

c ul of idF olcy, clly of h ul of ggm,


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culvo of h oo mog ol h h ly of w qu hm o

hoo o o k quo.

th collco of mo off bf glc Oo C L,

wh occu ug h oo h h of h idF o bhlf of il

ocy. W blv h h xc of mol ocy clly qu

ofou, ho cuo, of whch h voc of ol o h gou bl .

That this voice was missing from public discourse around the ghting in Gaza

oblg u o h ublco of h mo hm. Bcu of m

u h comlx oc of vfyg h mo, w o bl o

ublh h ll h ml ou oo. th mo h book

cgoz by ubjc h xc lgug of h ol kg.

Mly mology xl h.

tho who bk h lc h ublco cb h mo

how actions dened as anomalous yesterday become the norms of tomorrow,

how h m of il ocy cou, log wh h mly

ym, o l ogh ow h mol ly lo. th ug cll

o il ocy l o ob u vg w h ul of

ou co.

W woul lk o k h oouy o hk ou my volu uo

who bl h ublco of h bookl o uch ho oc. Whou h

xv c uo, h ublco woul o hv ch you

h.


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TesTimony 1 - Human sHeild

It was the rst week of the war, ghting was intense, there were explosive charges

o xo, ul o c m m hou. Comb w

low bclly vy mll w occu. evy u, vy foc h

mll g of obly vl oz hou oly, whch hy

h o k ov, h ook whol wk. th comb ook wholwk. thy lly mov lowly. Clo o ch hou. th mho u

h w m ow _ o log 'ghbo ocu.' now ol cll

'Joh.' thy' pl cvl, hy' cll Joh h

were civilians there who stayed in spite of the yers the army distributed before

w . Mo ol lv, bu om cvl y o wch ov h

hou. ph hy h owh l o go. L w w ol h who

coul o wlk, om mly y o k wch. to vy hou w clo

o, w h ghbo , 'h Joh,' f h m m , w

, lk wokg h 'u cook' h W Bk.

evr t r wth rt k 'rr ckr' rctc.

Wht b t?

i'm o u h bou h 'u cook' ocu h, hy coul b

ff. elly h o w o g hm ou lv, go , o cch h m

m. th w' my cou. Ju fw. i o c, ou m o

get them to come out, then they opened re, red some anti-tank missiles at the

house and at some point brought in a D-9, bulldozer, and combat helicopters.There were three armed men inside. The helicopters red anti-tank missiles and

again the neighbor was sent in. At rst he told them that nothing had happened

to them yet, they were still in there. Again helicopters were summoned and red,

i o' kow wh g of clo ( h u of foc). th ghbo w

sent in once again. He said that two were dead and one was still alive, so a D-9

w bough molhg h hou ov hm ul h ghbo

w , h l m m cm ou w cugh o o h

shbk th comm ll wh hy w mk u w kow how

hg wok o h . thy lo lk bou hg h boh hm.thy h cvl w u o g x h ju g hm

o hou. Fo xml, om of hm w m o mh wll wh 5 klo

lghmm. th w wll ou y wh h foc ' w

to use the gate, it needed an alternative opening for fear of booby-traps or any

oh vc. so h "Joh" hmlv w qu o bg o oh

hol wh lghmm. tlkg of uch hg, by h wy, h w oy

ublh by am H Hz ly w, bou Jbly wh


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u, wh m mo mo u, v h hou ll g,

mo of hm k gg hll h h. th xlo w go w

h wh h gul ol w , hy kw whch hou w blog o

Hm cv whch o. a Hm cv' hou uully go hll

oc o wc ju o mk u

Tk h?

Y. i o' kow whch k, i w' h. th og w h Hm

houses posed much more of a threat because of potential booby-trapping,

ul, combo hof, c. th why hy w hll, o v

whol of xlov chg, mo h lk.

The idea is that becase we know in advance that a hose belons to

H ctvt, w bw t t k r thr r xv

chaes.W hv o ff h bw blg hou hllg , l' u

h wy. Blg hou blowg u h . th omhg h k

hll ju co o, you' xlov fo h, ll k of u lg wh

explosives do this. And they did. You re some shells, and whether intentionally

o o, whol wg k ow. a whol wg of hou w o

. Wh mog cm, w w h uco of h hou bg o

lz wh w w, omwh. W w h Zyou ghbohoo fo

of u, wh Gv' (fy bg) h ly bgu o gg, h

uco of h ghbohoo w w . O mu coly k m

that we were under enormous threat. All possible dangers whether anti-tank

re, light arms re, explosive charges, kidnapping, mortar shells any scenario

was denitely possible. Luckily, but for a few exceptions we didn't witness or

xc uch hg oulv.

Abot shellin the activists, when yo wee biefed which hose to destoy

and which not to, who did the bien and when?

H o ll, bu i hk w my lkg wh Gv' guy wh w lc hmh hy xl h h w h ocu. i' h o y whh

h w uhoz ouc o o. Bu h lf l umo.

However I can't tell you that someone was ofcially authorized to say this: an

intelligence ofcer, battalion commander or someone else. What I can say is that

it was already mentioned in the preliminary brieng, that the idea of demolishing

hou o zg h ghbohoo wofol: o h o h h' h

ool cy, h' wh w h ll h m. i cll hvg coly


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h h ov ou o. th h w o o joz il ol

by g hou wh w o' kow wh' , o g wh

h k of xlov chg, hfo fom xc h my of h

houses, whether every second or fth house, various things were said anyway

a signicant part of the houses were booby-trapped, some of them had tunnels,

others mortars red by remote control, such stuff, those were things we saw.th w o o o molh hou, h coul l mo mv

hllg.

To sch an extent that a whole win wold collapse?

Worse. Or that it's a house that a D-9 bulldozer would take care of, and if not

obly lly v Co of eg, oh wo bl o hgh

heaven. If not, it could be shelled, but more thoroughly So the rst reason,

i , w o oc ou foc, l' u h wy, mg o k ou m

ll obl. W' molh uc hou h w o hg. thother reason was already brought up at the preliminary brieng at Tze'elim, in

fc: of h coc of zg w wh h il my cll 'h y f'

coo. Obvouly h cmg woul om o, clly h

w o o o com bck k ov h Gz s, w obvou

w' lv vully. th quo w wh coo w' lv h ,

whether more exposed, a state that would afford us better ring and observation

coo, f g cool. th w h cl bh ll h zg,

namely razing for our benet.

What was the exact wodin at the peliinay bien?

"th y f." rzg w o wh h y f ou lvg m, h

we would want this ability, outright, this eld of vision and range of re. The

xo "h y f" w m g, v w w ll

co.

When yo wee on the ond, did yo et to deolish hoses? Ode

d-9 rct th?

su, h hg cully ook lc, fo wo o. th wo l of

uco x fc, o ju l.

Bt yo went in behind the elas, the neihbohood was aleady epty.

The elas had aleady left, and yo wee actally takin ove in a 'staw


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ww' rcr.

no c. th gul bg wh h my cll offv comb. thy

fgm my , h' wh i kow. thy fgm h Gz s

cool b, ook ov clly loc hou o

cool h . to h cool w . thy o

ch ll h hou h w , w cool ov h , ook ovmo hou, clmb g, hll h ook ov w hou h

l h foc.

Din the week yo wee inside, yo wee still continin deolitions,

I ean continin to eceive intellience infoation abot all sspect

h.

su. a lo molhg of h coc of ou ow cuy, fo f '

og gov, h coul b f of g fom , o h och woul

b z fo ou ow fy, o o lv c of gou ov whch w o o

hv ol cool, o vo hg u, lo wh h fuu m.

C tt hw h? m, w?

no u. i c y h omo who oo gu uy o lk y

oh gu o, h ol h c ov whch h uo o

k wch. Qu of h bou of uch w m ucl, fo

w kow hm, h bou fom o hou o oh, o f o of h

hou w o log g you h o co oh hou, whch w lo' l. th bou w m ucl by h hou molo, i

m hou molo cou. th' fo u.

Din the week yo wee inside, yo wold still be shellin hoses with

explosive chaes, o wold yo deolish the with D-9s o wold the

Cops of Eninees be wokin on the?

all of h bov, i hk.

****


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TesTimony 3 - Rules of engagemenT

somhg h wh comm of m who' goo guy i hk

h ' vol h o h c. W y ou of h f

the family was waiting in an exposed spot - a father, grandfather, young mother

and babies. As we were coming in, the commander was ring a volley, andmkly kll oc.

Wht xct h?

W go o h hou. i w uou by y, fc. af h g

broken in, he goes in with live re. Several bullets, not a full burst.

a th wht h?

We go in, there's a break-in and search squad. Several stories to the building.

We didn't enter every room with live re, but dry.

a th ?

th fmly w hg fom h bombg. thy w u h h

happened to be just in front of the door and when he went in and red, he didn't

see who he was ring at. So he happened to kill an elderly guy.

y w h wht ?

th hou lf w my. W bok l c hoog oo. th

fmly mu hv b ch ou of h y i o' kow. i ' oc. th

boy m.

H th t?

i o' kow. Wh i hk bck, lly m h i o' kow. i hu

o m , bu o h i ' c. i k h my m o

w h blo comm bou bu i ju ' hv h m. too b i

', com o hk of .

Wht t t wrt?

th hg hg h blo of whch h h o . Whou

cully mg yo. i'm g fomg o ol. Bu f i look fom

h , h ol who v o go o jl.


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Yo don't eebe the siht of the faily.

Fom h gfh ow o h gchl. thy h mu hv b

o o go wy. W ' y h hou. W mov o fw hou

l.

****

TesTimony 4 - Rules of engagemenT & Home oCCupaTion

af h sco Lbo W h my bg o o Gz,

l f i kow. W h cl muv fo uch oo wc,

blo muv ccog o vou lg. th blo w g

o rfh Kh Yu, ol rfh o h oh foc woul b

bl o ch rfh loc ul. i w cll u o suy.

As soon as the ond offensive bean.

Y. th gou offv suy gh. W o o suy,

w h ly Flly wh w w o Fy gh, whch

w ly wo wk f gg cll u, lcm fo h Gol

(fy bg) comy' oo. Lk u, hy h b u comm

of gul k bg. th bg comm w comm of h

w w u h comm W ook ov h hou h Gol h

k, o by o. i ' h ou blo of yo who hf oo

h ho m w w h. i hk h Gol oo y h m oo

o hou. i hk h k hf, bu o oo much.

y tr h wht th k k? Wht ct w th

h ?

elly ll h muv w h c y w o xcu 'y' y,

'w' y, f w w loy w bg o g lo l

from the ghting in Gaza, we realized there's no such thing as a 'dry' entry. All w 'w,' g o h uo, ully. th w o uch hg

y mo , 'y' y.

s hw 'wt' tr wrk?

Missiles, tank re, machine gun re into the house, grenades. Shoot as we enter

a room. The idea was that when we enter a house, no one there could re at us.


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nully by comb og w woul o k hou h h Hm woul

expect us to take, for it would be highly likely for the Hamas to booby-trap it.

So 'wet' enty eans closin in on the hose and in La issiles?

Y. rpG, LaU. th' wh w w fo. i fc, wh w v

house, it was intact, no one had red at it, no one red at Golani when they wentin, they had no one to re at. Just like the houses I saw where we'd been, which

had not been red at, and nothing was broken. No walls were broken to get in.

th m mu hv k h hou 'y.'

Wht w th tt th h, t ctt?

W w hou wh vy ll fuu. th w om lc ch

m h boom co b, clo k of commo.

i hk Gol h ch h clo, k how h cloh ou

o ch, o mk u h w o xlov chg .

y 't trct b tht? Jt r tr

rch.

Y, h w o ol uco byo h oml mly ch. Vy

ll. Oly om cookg ul w h kch, fgo, g ov,

ll h. th w bowl wh b h ol h bfo hy

ou o o h ouch h b, o o , h Gol, o w.

accog o comb logc, you o' yhg h mgh co om o of

oo. a hy lly ' ouch . W u h m blk fog lg. a fo oh hou wh guy fom my comy y,

o hou w ll oly h kll g o ohg h w oy,

h w o qum . aoh hou, f i uoo cocly, i m

o u, bu h' wh i w ol i blv h w cvl hl u

h ow hom, u o h my' oml ocu, wh hy' cugh,

cleared and conrmed that they're not carrying any weapons or explosives.

Wh w w ll g w w ol h woul clu wom h

lly. W' hv o cl hm, mg hy hv o lf h gm, k

off whv w cy, clug wom, clug uvlg hmlv,

bcu om Hm m wom h lo wom uc

bomb. th' ocu. aywy, h co o h hou h comy

ook h w fou ol, h ow' fmly. W cm h o k foo

i w h hou. i w lgly fuh cly bul. i oo w bg

look f h wy w ou. M o vlz olly. thy

m fbl mly u of oly.

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TesTimony 5 - aTmospHeRe

Wht bthr t bt th rt?

Bothered me? Many things. Firstly, all that destruction. All that re at innocents.

th hock of lzg wh whom i'm h ogh. My m, lly, h'how hy' bhvg. i w mly mzg. icocvbl. th c of ll h

f ogg. You hv ll h cl lf who o' l fo om o o

oh, o y clo o hom, h wh you comb u look lk.

What disappointed yo in the ys who wee thee with yo? They'e still

r .

thy' my l, bcu h' o oh wy, i hv o b f wh hm.

i o' hv much choc. i lv wh hm. Bu h h, h joy of kllg,

o "i kll o, who W blw h h off"

s th thr thr w bck, rr, rrvt?

Thee was nothin to hold the en back?

Wh you comy comm blo comm ll you, "Go o,

re!" the soldiers will not hold back. They are waiting for this day, the fun of

hoog flg ll h ow you h.

Yo wee feelin it?

The way you feel with your nger on the trigger, where in one slight pull you can

k ow hlf bulg. so y, you fl .

s c bck vr t?

Vy. Bu i ' hv y oh xco. i o' k mylf. i' you my,

after all. At the end of the day it's 60 nineteen-twenty year olds for whom vulgarity

volc wy of lf. i' o th' ohg o hol you bck. i w'

oo u.

****


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TesTimony 6 - BomBaRdmenT

The 120mm Mortar (a type of mortar shell red by the IDF in Gaza) is a relatively

w ym whch Gv' o o y o.

Wht w th k?

th ol o h whl o u. i k hlf hou o g hll ou. i h w

ym h comu o h whol clbo oc. i hv m, l

hoo. a co m. i m gv fc o. i clck o h comu. i'

ouch c. i hv kybo. i clck h fc o. i how m wh

is on the map. I press, the mortar is aimed and my subordinate simply res.

Hw ccrt t?

Highly accurate. 95-100%.

Wht' ht?

i o' mmb h h u, f ' 30m ov 50m, o 50m ov 75m fo wo

bomb. do' cll .

Do yo eebe what the killin o wondin anes ae of this thin?

svl oz m. i' vy g hg. th' chc of hl

bu

The qestion is what yo ean by taeted.if h c c hol h z of h c hl ll ou.

What ae the taets?

Most of the time, they were open spaces. Once I was allowed to re and I realized

it was really inside a neighborhood. Houses. Then I nally understood. Most of

the time we were ring at launcher crews in open spaces, but it didn't take much

to aim at schools, hospitals and such. So I see I'm ring literally into a built-up

. i o' kow o wh g w ll hb bcu h my mcobl m o g ol o lv, bu i u h

Did yo hesitate while pllin the tie, o did yo ask aain?

I don't know about hesitating It feels terrible that we red there. But we'd always

g ho cll bou h ul of ou h. W w o ol w h kll

oc, bu w w ol w h h luch cw. i o' kow how my

m ch cw. Bu w kll h b guy h h of h Hm

high-arc [high - trajectory] ballistics section, so yes, you're proud of yourself and


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1

you bl. You fl lk df Foc. W hg oc ou

artillery re there was insane, but on the other hand you hear about shooting out

of Gaza and you return re immediately.

Wht' t rtr?

t of ou bomb fo vy o of h.

Evey tie they e, yo e ten onds at the sae lanch spot. Isn't one

enoh?

scg.

Wht ?

thy fll x o ch oh, h' lo of h clculo wo hll fllg

ogh x h h u. alo, i uo of h coo boh

open and built up areas is the tunnels. The rst shell hits the oor, the third might.

Bt what do yo ean by scattein? Do yo neve e a sinle shell

?

no. abou h m. i , f ll, lg g, you o luch

vl o o h.

And they don't all hit the sae spot, is that the scattein effect?

excly.

All the taets yo ed at, was that stictly in esponse to thei in

t ir?

O o bomb lc bfo y.

In eneal, they e into Isael, thei lanch spot is located, yo etn e,

t c?

There were days we red only into built-up areas, inside Gaza City itself.

How is open space dened?

accog o wh i w o h m, o hou. emy.

y r ht?

W w l hoo oly om of h m. th comu w u. p

w o m, o l hoo. i o' mmb xcly.


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y ' r' chck?

Y.

Wht tht, r?

i m ou foc o h . Ou comu o lly

u bou vy idF co. so h chck w m fo u bfo wcv ou fc o.

s wht r r r w rc?

300 meters under re. Something like that. A scattering and a last bomb. Then

h ochbl.

Wr ch r cr r pt, r w tht t

rvt?

Cvl? if ' o c, i uo h w o my pl

that time. As for identication of areas, thats already about the instructions they

cv o vcu h hom.

So how ch do yo estiate yo ed altoethe?

Upwards of 620 shells. It's written somewhere in the brieng. We evaluated all

ou h, ll h goo hg b hg wll h umb of hll

red.

a xv?

Y. i c you cu, om of hm fuy.

When did yo e fo softenin the esistance?

Most of the time ring was for softening resistance I think. I don't know quite how

o guh . W mly cv o. if w h o, h i gu h

w h uo. Bu f w ol h idF uo o go gh w

take this to mean ring to soften resistance. But we are not told prior to opening

re each time.

****


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1


Before the rst time we went in, the battalion commander had us all stand in

fomo o Fy vg : "W co u hm wh ou mg,

hy kow wh. W co u hm wh ou loco, hy kow xcly

where we're coming in. What we do have is re power." And in fact all that reow, wh wh foc, lly, mo co h quy of fy

that went in, the awareness of each soldier going in is simply a light nger on

h gg. You omhg you' o qu u? You hoo.

Is this soethin yo wee told?

i' omhg h w : h (h blo comm) h

mom i w qu u of wh h m. i y much g wh hm. H

: no h wll fll off ol of m, i m o wllg o llow ol

of m o k hmlf by hg. if you o u hoo. if h oubh h o oub. W uoo h h ' o bcu ol

w o kll, o collc h o gloy. i' bcu hy w o v hum

lv y co. W ll kow, w' ll lvg h couy kow h h

of blly cul ll of h w, hy mly w o ck o h,

comlly. L lo buco ocu uch hg, wh h uco

w xlc f you' o u, kll. F ow w . W w h

boom w ju m. th mu w go o ou g l, w mly bg

to re at suspect places. Also, it was still dark when we went in, we got there

ju bfo w. You hou, wow, hoo h wow. You o'

o h? F h wow. i w l ub wf. th h

ffc bw ub wf lm cofoo. i ub wf,

yo you my. no oc. i w mly ub wf vy wy.

We went in there house after house, going around each other every time. 99%

of h hou w my.

Yo ente hoses with live e?

no. th uco w o g vyo ou of h hou o coc hm o oom. aouc hough louk. Gv fw mu, f h

person is not out after 2-5 minutes, whoever is left inside is a dead man. Whoever

com ou mbl hm ou o o of h low oom, h go

upstairs with live re. This was the instruction, and it was not always followed

bcu of h hou w my. so why w mmuo? Ju hoog

fo fu? som ol bu h w o lwy h c. evully h

w o cofoo ll ol w o bg o l off

m mly hoo. i gl ol (pl) cm ow, w'


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o hm o go ov h, o om co ll hm o go h.

thy' o, 'Bu h ou hom. W hv owh o go,' w th

w h o, f o o h blo lvl, h fom h bg o gl

my uco. i o' kow. Bu ' o omhg h loo o comy

comm c o h o. i w obvou wh w w h h ol

o llow o y h hou. W c hm ow c hog hy woul' b h h. i ou g w c hm

ouhw h Gz s ow wh ou foc w o . W

sent them south. We did not abuse them. But it hurts when ve mothers, an old

wom ll chl look you h wom y "i hv owh o

go" h' ohg you c o. i h o h. You ough u. You look

h h y y: "Ov h." a hy wlk wy. a oo omo

com ou, you ouc h h oc movg ouh uully

lo h ym, o ghm. th hou k ov w

oulv ccog o l.

****


& use of WHiTe pHospHoRus

What ae the instctions, the objective, the oal when yo o in? Whobiefs yo, the battalion coande? The biade coande?

th comy comm, blo comm bg comm. th

hgh u h k you go, h mo gl bcom. exc fo h comy

comm w w wo loo, oh comy comm of

loo h blog o fy comy o o w cl o wh w w

gog o b og h.

And the les of enaeent?

if w c yhg h houl o b h w hoo. W' ol h

force distributed yers telling everyone to go to Gaza City. If beyond this line any

ol c hy o uo o b h. i h o fom

oh cw who ho ol wo klom wy. i mmb i woul chg

lc wh h gum k look. You ol mo o l ug

their life routine, taking a walk, stuff like that. Denitely not terrorists. I hear from

other crews that they red at people there. Tried to kill them. The younger guys,


20/112

0

g o h co. thy m o hk ' cool o wl uch ow wh

no one wanting to rein them in. They gave permission to open re.

Yo had it, too, was it a eneal peission to open e?

Wh h bou of ou g .

it' ct, kw. fr wr trbt, bt r b t b

on the ove, obviosly thee wold be civilian tafc. It's not a ilitay

aea. People live thee. No one addessed this in biens? Coandes,

? n tct w t b btw cv,

ch w c r rct? Thr r t b

cr.

th' gh. no cl mo w m of oc.

Yo said that fo the oent he detected the vehicle with insents(the inteviewe is efein to identication and initial e of anothe tank

that the witness descibed ealie in his testiony), the st shell was ed

and yo didn't hold yo e afte that. What does that ean?

Fo mo of h oo w w ug h ghg vc w h h

tank within our designated area as it was dened for us, and ring machine guns,

co, whv w h.

Fiin at what?

evyhg: hou f h uy blo comm hough hou look

uc, w' blow wy. if h fym ' lk h look of h hou

we'd shoot. Everything. We red This wasn't non-stop. Our ammo supply

w o l.

y wr t tht vt th rc w b cb, tr

wold coe fo hee and then eveyone wold be helpin ot to level

eveythin ahead?

i w l h wy. i occuy c 'cl' , k u oo go ou gh o h ghbohoo you occu o k ov hou

vou g you molh.

Yo bean to speak abot ao qantity?

Our tank red. Shall I tell you how much?


21/112


Yes, to ive s an idea.

35 c of mch gu ou, omhg lk h. 40 hll, 30 hll, wo

c of hvy mch gu ou, 20 mo ou. i kow of oh cw

who even red white phosphorus.

y hv tht r ?Yes. Our battalion mortars were also using phosphorus. I know of an ofcer's

tank that red phosphorus, too.

Yo'e speakin in eneal, ty to be specic. A 60 . ota is not

rc t .

th' gh. th o h w u w m lc w w o cl,

g uch. Wh w w c o o w h m. i kow h

are storage structures there and that kind of stuff, at a range of 200-300 meters.

th g mo o l c.

What was the stoy of sin white phosphos ota shells?

th comy comm gv h mo loo comm g

orders him to re.

Wht w thr, kw?

A target. They dene targets. I can't really say what there was. Sometimes you'd

h o o "pm, hohou h ." th' . i o' cll f h wever conrmed by the company commander, but I know of an ofcer that also

red without requesting permission.

Why e phosphos?

Bcu ' fu. Cool.

Pofessionally do yo have phosphos fo se aainst sch theats?

i o' kow wh ' u fo. i w ju lkg bou h yy. i o'

u wh ' v og ou ul f w' o uo o u uchmmo. i' culou.

****


22/112

TesTimony 9 - Rules of engagemenT & House demoliTions

From the onset, he and the brigade commander and other ofcers made it very

clear to us that any movement must entail gunre.

n ttr wht k vt.

You don't need to be shot at. Sufce it that you suspect there's movement,

h w bfo w ou ow g . i o' mmb

f h bg comm h o omo l. i'm o u: o o

uo o b h, f you y g of movm ll, you hoo. th,

lly, w h ul of ggm. shoo f you lk. if you' f, o

you omo, hoo.

Even if thee's no dane?

th' h mg of h, y. You o' oly hoo wh h. thumo h you coly fl h, o yhg h h

you, you hoo. no o cully "hoo gl" o "hoo yhg

that moves." But we were not ordered to open re only if there was real threat.

Did yo feel theatened coin in?

Y. W go l h whol m. th of h w llly bg bul

u u. i c y h bou oulv, w w vy fgh. i cul fc

h w o o o b, bu w fl h. no h yhg h o

jufy h, bu fom h ou, w Gz f. i' mo o

h v, w w o g bck hom fly obl. i' ff.

L, i hv b gul. i' ff k of flg. You' f v

o g o k o muv. You o' w o g hu, you o' w

yhg o h o you. Coquly w' lo mo cuou wh og

re, we don't want to start off something that would get us stuck there. In general

v mo cful, hy o' u ucy k. a fo h ul of

ggm, w o g uco o hoo yhg h mov, bu w

w glly uc: f you fl h, hoo. thy k g ous that this is war and in war opening re is not restricted.

Afte ettin in positions, wee yo watchin the hoses all day o at

niht?

W wch hm ll h m.


23/112


y rrt ct vt?

th w ohg h. Gho ow. exc fo om lvock, ohg

moved. One tank of our company had a run-in, identied an anti-tank missile

that was about to be red at it, so it red and that was that. Rumors ran that our

k w hll by mo. th hou l omo o u, "d' you

hear you'd been red at?" We had no idea we were red at. Alerts kept coming inll h m bou wom uc bomb bou o ch u wy mu.

no of h l v mlz.

How was she oin to each yo?

W go o fomo o h o o, hy ju ol u whch co h w

uo o com fom o k o h lookou h co. Byo h,

w ' h much.

sh w t c t?Y. th l w "Wom uc bomb o h wy o h oo."

somhg log h l, o oo my l. "Wh hou o wo." W k

getting alerts about a sniper in our area, about a group of ve observed inside a

house that could be an anti-tank missile crew. We constantly got all these alerts

o of hm mlz f ou comy w coc. th o

o m hy w my l. th of h m w h k

were on lookout and ambushes, and kept seeing re all around us, constant

artillery re, navy, air force, and regular units that were activated continuing fromwh w h b u.

Ou g w o ow bcu byo ho 500 m, il

my u w co, oo blo ***, w w o

allowed to re outside our area. Occasionally another area was opened to us. We

heard that company L opened re a lot, there were rumors around the battalion,

c' ll you how u hy w, bu umo h h hy h x lg

mou of mmo ogh wh h fym. Byo h umo i o'

kow wh h o '.

i c oly lk bou wh ou comy whch o much th w llybu c ug ou y h. O y w h ou foo

coffee. Suddenly the battalion commander's tank, ve meters away from us,

red a shell into a building. Why did he shoot? I don't know why. Perhaps he

cv l, myb o. i w' o o. i look goul o m, mo

of "wku cll" fo h comy. th w c wh o w

uc o b hgg ou h k. i hk h omo mly cm ou

of o of h k lookou c hm hough h w o


24/112


25/112


TESTImONY 10 - BrIEFINgS

What ae yo told at the biens befoe entein?

That's a complex question. In ofcial, formal briengs, there was no talk about

wh w w bou o o. W ' kow wh w w gog o o. Ul hvg bfo ou y o h Gz s, w ' kow wh h co

ou woul b lk. Bu ' mo o y h vyo who lk

o u, whh ou ow bg comm who ' k gl

in the action, but joined because a battalion from his brigade did or ofcers

we somehow got to meet, all sounded extremely militant, used very erce

lgug.

What lanae was that?

L' y h h gl och w 'w' gog off o w' i c wi h ou bg comm l oc, wh g wh u ug

maneuvers for a combatants talk around the campre at Tze'elim at night he

h o jo u w k hm wh w gog o Gz wh w

o b xc, uff lk h, h w o f o y h w w

w w, o coo of cvl w o b k. You hoo yo

you . i'm hg h, o llly quog, bu h g of h m

w vy cl.

Hw tk th?

Look, w' y ol comy. W' foug blo, ll of u 33

y ol, w ook h vy kclly, b fful of h my' och. i

kow fo mylf, i o' kow wh vy gl guy h gh fl bou . i kow

olly h h y much gu m. th w cl flg, h

w whv oh ok o u, h o hum coo

ly y ol h my . th gol w o cy ou oo

wh h l obl cul fo h my, whou v kg lf wh

h c woul b fo h oh . th w h hu of hg h w hfrom more than one ofcer.

What ofces?

C' ll you. Who ok o u? exc fo ou ow bg comm who'

a regular ofcer there were ofcers from that base. I don't remember who

talked to us, I can't name their ofcial title, I really don't remember.


26/112

In ofcial talks this tone was epeated?

There weren't too many ofcial talks. We were training most of the time. A part

of the company perhaps did have ofcial talks, but we didn't attend too many of

ho. i gl, w w muv coul' g oo my l bou

our unit's activity. So we didn't talk to any intelligence NCO or senior ofcer,

at least not our company, except for ofcers from our own battalion: our ownblo comm, ou ow bg comm. Byo h, w ' u

into too many senior ofcers. When our brigade commander spoke, the tone was

vy obvou.

Yo entioned yo had a talk with the biade coande.

Y. imov.

Whr w th?

a tz'lm (g b).

Yo wee condctin aneves on how it was all oin to look inside

(th str)?

Y. Gg u o h c of ocv coy oo. th

k o h f cc, ' gh, h k k ou

h oo w ogz ou wh w , k muv h'

h oo ff. th ll w. so w h o h ou

campre and the brigade commander joined us. He described to us exactly whatw kg lc Gz. pcly.

Wht?

He described the incidents of friendly re. I think this was a day after a tank red

Gol blo comm. i o' cll h xc l. H xl

wh h, why h, how h. H ol u bou om mo

c h , bou m buco of Gol (fy) ol

how h go ou of h. H ol u o fom h h quo

cm u o wh w' b og h wh vyy lf wll b lk. H ,"You wll y h k h whol m." W lk bou ccl m,

bu h bc och o w w vy bul, h w my mo. ph

oh fl ffly. H omhg log h l of "do' l moly

bcom u. th wll com u l." H h h g lgug: "Lv

h ghm hoo h wll com u fo l, ow ju hoo." th w

h of hg, mo o l. th w w h cy bul u fo cc

tz'lm, w xc h b oll , wh k co


27/112


enter. There was an ofcer with us, can't tell you what his duty was, who talked

to us about lessons learned and conclusions drawn from the ghting in Gaza.

th w bg o h whol m, h w bookl comg ou o h

coly. i o' kow wh w hm.

i th wr?

During the rst days of the campaign. It kept coming all the time. Whole booklets

o lo l h w o Gz, hy w bg coly u.

so h (bg comm) ook u fo ol o wh ub comb woul

look lk k, h oo, h bc och, h lo h o g

co o u, w h h w o chc k. if you fc h

h by bulg you k ow h bulg. Quo uch "who lv

h bulg" o k. Whv g you wy, you o vyhg o

v gg you wy, gl of h hum mlco of

uch co. th w h of hg wh yo w h o lk o.L' y h h u of 'uy of m' o com u ll h lk.

****

TesTimony 11 - use of WHiTe pHospHoRus

& Rules of engagemenT

th w w bck oh, bou 500 m fom h fc, y h ll

night as look-outs. We saw nothing special. The next day we got back to base to

g w mo o w oc g g o foc fom Blo

*** wh whom w w . W wlk wh hm o h bch w ll h

wh hohou bomb i'v ol you bou, w w glzg o h .

C crb t? Wht ?

You' wlkg log h h h cuch of omhg bg cuh.

W look ow w wh look lk h h of hou of bokgl bol.

Wht cr t hv?

a y bow.

d r th whr rb?

There was an area of about 200-300 square meters of glazed sand like that. We

uoo h ul fom wh hohou, w ug.


28/112

Wh?

Bcu g you l h wh hohou o u, you'

taught that it's not humane. You watch lms and see what it does to people who

h, you y, "th, w' og oo." th' o wh i xc o

. Ul h mom i h hough i blog o h mo hum my

h wol, i kw h v h W Bk, wh w go o ghbohoo,w o quly o h ol wo' u, bu lo o o o ub

hm, o l. W' o ev wh Moloov cockl w how u

h W Bk, w woul' hoo, h ul vy xlc. if you ow lf

k, you hoo. Bu u o oh ccumc. pcclly kg, how

often are you really in a life-threatening situation in the West Bank? Until that

moment I had never red a shot except at cardboard targets, just at the shooting

g muv, i lo uoo why. a idF ol o o hoo

fo h k of hoog o o h ly xcv foc byo h cll of

the mission he is to perform. We saw the planes ying out and you see from

whch bulg h ock luch g il you h fou hou

uoug h bulg collg oo h foc bomb. i o' kow

f w wh hohou o o, i o' lly c h much, bu whol

ghbohoo w mly z bcu fou hou h v o

luch Qm ock. i o' kow wh l c b o, bu o m

omwh uf.

Wht, th rrt?

Y. i' ooo.

Wh wt , th rrc w t ct th hv qt

not ies, bt atilley, ao and axiliay e. Yo wee watchin what

was bein ed thee, and how the tanks and otas wee sed?

Fom wh i w ou mo, k w of , loo fom Blo

***, o cu clo cov, ogh wh vl k o g, h

tanks waited for something to move in order to return re effectively. I didn't go

wh h hvy qum, w w ch o cl u who o wokwh h hvy qum.

What do yo ean by "waitin fo soethin to ove"? What wee yo

les of enaeent? What wee yo told at the biens?

"Anything looks suspicious to you, open re."


29/112


Wht c? ar tt r bth v thr, t?

Y. You hv o c wo, vfy h o o o of ou. if h h

omhg o hm, h gou ough o

n tt, v wtht tt.

thy w umg h yo bomb zo, cyg Klhkov, o wo collco.

Yo o into Al Atata, and yo see bildins, hoses?

ru. i al a f g l hoo ' fy yhg,

my hooghc mmoy o h b. i mmb h 200 m

fuh o ow h ck h houl b juco, wh wo lg hou

h co, h w'. i mmb h w uo o b qu

wh Hm mmol moum, h w'. th w ubbl, bok

block.

How did the destction affect yo ability to conicate, to naviate?

It got to the point where we would try to report to eld intelligence about a gure

sticking out its head or a rocket being launched, and the girl (at eld intelligence)

woul k, "i h o h hou"? W' look h l hoo y,

"Y, bu h hou o log h." "W, fcg qu?" "no mo

qu." sh woul k u f h w h h o fouh juco, w' ll h

h hou ll cuh ov h juco you o' gl juco.

i go o h o wh w coul hly ou wy. L i w o hlookout war-room and asked how things worked, and the girl-soldiers there, the

lookou, h fc h hy h o wy o c h l, bcu ll

of h fc o w z. so hy woul c hm gl m

o ly olly o coo. thy fou h fc o o l hoo

shared by the pilots and the war-room, and very approximate, which also annoys

m. Wh h, oxmo? i' hghly obl h ow h lo wll bomb

h wog hou.

Wee yo told of this appoxiation, o is this yo own take on thins?

i w my ow k o hg. sh ll hm, "tk om 800 m of h

o o m uch uch zmuh fom h o h l,"

you y, "W, f h o o u h com oh um h

cockpit for these measurements, then possibly he'll miss targets, it's not so far-

fch. th o h 'm bomb' w h b wokg o o h. Coul b

h' ug uch bomb, bu mg h wog g."

****


30/112

30


When yo o in, what is yo objective?

W w ll wg o cv o o , w h' h yhg y,

v ou comm h' h much. W w mly ol o "hol hjuco, cool ." aly h hgh chlo w cl bou o gog

fuh o ph 3 oly g o o c u h

just put their foot on the rst rung of the ladder, just in case we do eventually

clmb . Bu w w kowg w fo fw y bcu w' og h

ph. alhough w h h olcl mov w fomg, l' y.

s ct thr w bjctv.

rgh. W h o k ov mly . W h o m l of vo oo

tch o. aoh loo fom ou comy hl h. My ow loo oh fom h ohmo l, h mo fow, h fuh fom h

fc thy cv uco o o llow y movm log tch

o.

Wht tht ?

i m h f vhcl mov log h o, o o hoo ju h

of h vhcl o h h v woul lz h bg g mu'

vl h o h' u bck. th w o c wh ul hy lz

h uck w ho , bu u ou i o' kow whh yo

w ju.

This was in effect both day and niht tie?

eclly gh. no vhcl. F of ll, pl w' movg ou

there at night, and secondly, in the day time there was trafc and it was stopped

by gunre. Our distance from the road was about 200-300 meters. That was

mo o l h g W cooll h o v movm

w w uc. th w o c h of moocycl g ou, io' kow wh wh h ul of ggm w fo h mo co,

but anyway the tank red a shell at the motorcycle and hit it. I don't know what

h o bu i blv ohg much w lf of h guy.

I want to back p soe. Yo entioned a tck that was taeted. What

h thr, wht w th tr r kw?

W h uco o o llow g. Whov w o uy h m h

uck v o oc wh w hg my hv u hm.


31/112


It advanced further than the instructions allowed, so he red in order to stop it,

ring at the spot that was usually targeted. The truck had already reached that

spot and he simply red at it.

This took place in day- o niht-tie?

dym.

The instction to shoot in font of a ovin vehicle applies to achine

n e o shellin?

Not shells, light gunre, machine gun or M16 rie. One can easily aim in front of

h vhcl, h lo mkm, o oblm.

Okay, what abot pedestian tafc?

For pedestrian trafc, the entrance was on the road coming out at Sufa Crossing.

th whol o w o wh h gou offv bg. thy bulloz hck lll o h o, o w o fo movm.

a cv?

no h. a oo h oo , hy ll c o h ow.

So all the villaes aond thee actally

W lmo olly bo. i'm u h w cvl h h, bu

o my.

Yo didn't see even one thoh yo binoclas?

no. im llg you, i w o, h guy my comy w llg m

and I couldn't gure out if they were pulling my leg. I assume it was the truth.

When yo ente a hose, yo'e iven cetain instctions not

trtv, rt?

th il my u ouo ocu by h book O of h hg

h ocu g l. i m h whov co h lm ho, o quo k.

sht t k?

shoo o kll, y. i ou c, h hou wh w w, h w x, ou

oo fo w h oh o, h hou o o h w, y

uou by cm block wll, bou 15 m fom h hou oo. W

w uc o hoo o kll yo g h y. sm w u fo oh


32/112


33/112


34/112

3


Wht w t k th h?

Well, you know. Routine. For our rst two days there, we were hungry, then we

go foo vyhg fll o lc, ul woul v vy y o wo.Once in a while we'd break the routine re in some direction, at one house or

oh. th w comy fom h blo o w of u h h

some engagement. There was no ghting in the houses.

Was thee any htin to bein with? How was yo inteaction with the

cv?

thy w h hou. i ' y wh my ow y bu i o hk

there was one civilian killed in the rst house, when the house was taken over.

When it was entered with gunre, then the procedure changed and there weremo ch. th w fmly h co hou o w ' go

with gunre. We yelled at them to get out, banged on the door. As soon as that

rst one was killed, I think he was an elderly man, the policy was changed and it

was more searching and less opening re.

So, at st, thee was iediate e? meanin yo shot at those

h?

Y.

They didn't ealize they had to et ot?

i gu hy w f o.

What wee yo assinents inside the hoses? Occpyin o only takin

th t rtct r?

W' k ov hou, k chgg, cug h o. Glly, ou mo

w o ol h . no o l y vhcl v o h o.

Wee thee vehicles ovin thee at all?

No. Occasionally there were people, usually we opened deterrent re.

So what was diffeent fo yo, o difclt, in this paticla wa?

Mo of h m w bog. th w o lly oo my v. th w

one pretty difcult incident where we had to A man suddenly appeared at a

distance, something like 150-200 meters, at night. We detected him carrying a

ickering torch. We detect from rather far away, we request conrmation to open


35/112


deterrent re. He approached on a zigzag, advancing towards the house. We ask

for conrmation. At the time we couldn't tell whether he was suspect or carrying

yhg. W hough h wh h och h my b ghg fomo bou

ou lcm. W h ll k of . W o g h OK fo

re. Our commander went up to the roof with other soldiers, and all that while the

guy w vcg oh ul h comm lc hmlf o h oof whh oh. th m fom gh bh om . th x m w

detected him, he was 15-20 meters from the house, which by all our instructions,

fy mu, co zo g f w coc f

omo cyg xlov. th w lo of uc bomb l h

m, ll h m, cly. so w h o k ow h guy. if h cyg

xlov chg k xcly o co fo hm o u o h hou. a

that moment the soldiers on the roof shoot him, another soldier too opens re.

Later it turned out this was an old man with a ickering torch and a white shirt.

d t?

W o.

Opened e iht away?

evully u ou o b mk.

What wee the les of enaeent?

i of w, h ul of ggm h ol o h gou mu

xc h ow jugm, h comm' jugm h mom.

d th v kw wr tht h?

L, i hv o wy of kowg. O h o h, ho hou i o

kow how yo coul o b w of ou c, h w hvy apC

coly comg gog. You coul kow w w h. i hv o

fom wh h m cm. H w clo o h hou i o' kow f h

kw w w h. a f w' coc h ju o u.

Wh t th rtcr tr?

You asked about a difcult experience.


36/112

3

Bt t w tk.

Y, bu oo w h voc i fl woul lg o my m fo

while, the man down there was crying out. So I recall it as a difcult moment. I

kow h ly h fo wo y ul h w mov.

****


One night, I don't know whether it was the rst or second week, but it was

certainly after about 5-6 days we had already been inside. I think this was

already the second week. There was an outpost brieng. Everyone assembled

h m hllwy. th comy comm ok, h loo comm

ok. W ok, *** k m f i, oo, omhg blkg o ho? W obv fo fw co lgh blkg f wy f

oh fw co lz ' o. somo wlkg ow h o

ou co. a m go by w c fy mo. H' wlkg, holg

och, wg wh h, h log b, ol m wlkg ow h

ml of h o. W fom bou h co, h och h

ly um. th h comy comm v, ll wok u,

looks around, identies it and says "All snipers up to the roof." We ask, "Why

ll u o h oof? Wh' h m?" H oly , "all h

u o h oof, you c ly o m." i k whl fo hm o g h. th

m com clo, bou 150 m fom u, h h comm go o

yg, "do' woy, 'll b ll gh." a c of 100 m w c ll

fo u h h' o holg yhg. th oly hg h mgh b cyg

xlov bl, o h fomo gh fo h Hm. i c' ll. a

fo y h, howv, h w ohg. W kw h. W o o

h comy comm h h guy holg ohg k hm o llow

deterrent re. This was nighttime. The rules were "gray." On the one hand at

gh f you omo you k hm ow. O h oh h you' lookg o wlkg ow h ml of h o holg och, lookg mo

hough h chg fo hl o foo o h' ugg. H o' m o

b o h wy o kll u. Bu you kow, h of h y ' h ool

considerations that count. We ask for permission to open deterrent re. The

comm fu y hy'll b y oo. th pl ly

70-80 meters from us and we ask again about deterrent re. It's getting touchy

bcu c of 50 m xlov bl c k ow vyo

h oom. H och vyo' ly o o hm i h guy


37/112


fom oh hou llg u o k hm ow ly. th m 50 m

from us and there's yelling on our radio. At this point it's re proper, not deterrent

re. The man reached about 20-25 meters from the house. Another second and

we're pulling the trigger. Suddenly a burst of re is heard from upstairs, making

u ll jum. th ol m gv uch cm i'll v fog log i lv.

evyo hoog hoog h guy' cmg. th commcom ow, glowg. "H' o fo ogh." H w k why

he wouldn't conrm deterrent re. He said, "It's nighttime and this is a terrorist."

Wh w h kw h guy h ohg o hm oly holg och,

h , "th o' m. i' ghm, c., c." th w flg h

ol w ou o kll h, o o fl b bou . L omo bough

u g wh h comy comm wh w go ou, k hm g

why he didn't approve of opening deterrent re. After all it had been a man

wlkg o h o wh och wh h. th x mog w

out the explosive-detector dog to sniff him out. The guy was clean, nothing onhim. Except for a torch in his hand, a white shirt and a long beard. A 50-60

year-old man lying on the road. I felt uneasy about the whole thing, but knew

h woul' o y goo o bg u gh h cofo h comy

comm h ml of Gz.

Wht w th tk wth h bt tr c t?

somo k hm why, h g w bcu of ghm

uch. Guy ol hm h m w oc w mu mmb h'

cvl oulo h wll, o ju o, h fc h o

w cvl cloh o' m y cvl mu b kll c H '

agree and couldn't give a damn, and nally the guys felt that even if they would

k h u wh hgh chlo, woul b ffcv. so h wh m

y.

****

TesTimony 15 - RaBBinaTe uniT

O y o o h y o Gz, mobl u v fom h mly

bb u. thy och m hy blog o ogzo

cll "Jwh aw," hy cm o lk wh h ol gv ou

ml co of th Book of plm om bochu. i o' hv h

uff hy gv ou. O w mjo, h oh w o ufom o i o'

kow wh h k w. i c' ll whh h w o v uy o o. thy


38/112

3

h c log b, cul. thy h com o lk wh h ol, whch

was ordinary procedure, not only prior to a signicant operation. The rabbi would

ummo h lgou guy ou u, whov w o woul g ogh o

h hy woul hol uy o ogh o cu sbbh o'

o'. th bg bb, fo xml, woul k yo

xl o hm wh Jwh lgou lw llow o fob wh m fo comb. th w o hg.

The abbi of yo eseves biade?

Y. aoh hg w o "cch" o gh ll h ol fo cuo.

y wr vr t th t?

Y, vou xc. th w c o fo ff k of cc.

so hy cm h w ol who w lly g h. i m, hy

w ug uch mg 'wh w, cu bg fo h blwh slh l d?' thy lly lk h lgou o of w. O h oh

h, h w oh who lov ly coc o , comg u

hugly wllowg h o of lk. i ' l o h lk h l

bou 15 o 25 mu.

W't ttc cr?

no. i w' mbly wh vyo. i m howg u wh vyboy

w ywy whov ' w o y coul g u lv. so of

half-captive audience. I remember that one of the things I resented I am sorry I

' u h o o bk u h cuo how h guy ou v f h

w uhoz by omo o oh w h h h w g fou

enemies. Whereas the army dened the aim of this war to weaken and topple the

Hm, wh h mo o l uul my fomulo, h fllow x h

fm of fc o : "W hv fou m," h . H

wh i. now i ovg lwh, o ou my h

w, bu uully il cou cv my, gl

of wh you o, ' h my. so l' um h h cou h'pretty much the norm. Then he went on to mention the Hamas, which was dened

h my ywy, oc o k of h pl auhoy. if i

mmb cocly, h b mo comlx. th pa o o g Gz

o goo v f mly vul, h fouh my h

ab cz of il. i w xlcly. i o' cll h xc m, whh

h u 'h ab of il' o 'il ab,' bu hy um u. H

' qulfy ll o om who H xlcly ok of hm my, whl


39/112


addressing this specic operation. This is, of course, a false and problematic

m.

Wht c th tk?

Lo of ho, h k of lgou cou i'm b fml wh: w of choc,

holy w ffg ul. H ok l lgou mology, v of h ki kow, w much mo o ml fh. H m g h m wh

coug, culy, ggv, xo uch 'o y, Go oc

you, everything you do is sanctied.' The gist of these statements was perhaps

o bg hg o gm wh lgo, wh Go whov h m w

uo o , h vyhg o ly vyhg mbl. th

were no specic scenarios discussed, for example whether everything goes

f h' g wom g h. Bu fom h cox w y

obvou h cm o ll u how ggv m w o b, h

w mu w bcu h holy w.

H k bt th pt?

i c' cll. Of h ul log m, qug h pl

wh h amlk, fo xml. th pl h my, whh hy

il cz o ubjc of h pl auhoy mk o ffc.

th cov vyo.

Soe soldies wee sayin they wee bein teated like 'csades.' What

w tht?

Y, cul guy, o ho who fom (Jwh) o lgo,

stood there rather amused or horried at this talk. What is this thing? Here comes

guy w o' kow, wh om k o oh, xl o u bou holy w

h my whch h ab il h w mu' how y mcy,

and have to attack in proper ghting spirit. What has all this to do with me? You

can imagine, even in lms you don't see that any more, it's out, like heroes. You

can imagine a priest preaching on ghting spirit and explaining the importance

of chg h V doloo o h Holy s. a f i kow h w oholy .

How did the ofces ead this? Was it discssed at the coand level,

did yo bin it p fthe? Was it accepted? Did it o nnoticed?

i m yg o cll. F of ll, oly f i w h Hz (h w

fg o ublco Hz ly w of Juy 26h 2009 bou

mhl bu by h amy rbb o ol who ook h

Gz cmg), i lz h w w homo. if you' you


40/112

0

u omo com log lk, oky. th wo vywh

h w o lkg o u ' ou of l, h l vy clo

ccl w lk bou how ou of l h w. Bu o mu' mk uch

bg l of vy uch vul. My lly w hm g. th'

how i go o you, i w h w oy lz h ch o oly

ou ow , w much mo ou mo hoough lookgo. th w lo o h of h my bb o xm ow

ol, o l mo h vyhg h o ol. th xmly

v fc bw h lgou h cul, Jwh l

lf cv who cll cl v hough hy v h v,

fo vou o i o' mmb xcly, bu i'm lmo u h w

lk bou h bg ul of h 'ggm' h bckg off whch

om fl bou ll of h, h h' oouy o w, o 'mug

hg u.' i hk ll h hg ou of lc h.

****

TesTimony 16 - RaBBinaTe uniT

W w tz'lm bg muv o fo ou y o h

Gaza Strip. We were actually going through various exercises for our specic

gm. i h fmwok, gg wh w' lkg bou h my

bb wo hg h ou coc wh hm h m. th

rst was the distribution of pamphlets, an indirect sort of contact. It's the kind

of mhl h bu mly ygogu, o g of h wkly

g h lo bu mly ygogu, cog h xlc

olcl co. Lk wg, fo xml, h h pl lk h

phl of ol, wcom who o o blog h l, l l o

ou ol whch houl clly u o u. th w lo h coym of h

m of h Jwh lm nzm h houl b bul.

What wee these paes, exactly?

There are yers containing the weekly religious reading that are very similar to

ll k of mly mhl you h ygogu, bu hy hv h idF

m o hm h of h mly bb. i h mly bb h

m cll 'Jwh aw fo Wg idF' whch fc h

m chg of movo u olvg oblm of moly

ghting and the like, for soldiers.


41/112


Wht rb hv wth tht?

polly, i hk h cz of mocc wh boh m

cully h buo of olcl mhl wh h m of h idF o hm

boy h uo o b olcl. i hk h o oom fo olcl

vw h my, gl of whh i g wh hm o o. i hk hy

ou of lc my fmwok. th' o wy blo comm ccom o h ol y: w ow hv o go bck l nzm.

th ou mo. th wh w houl o, bul nzm. Clly,

blo comm who woul y h woul l b m, h

is likely to be penalized even more severely. And here an ofcial institution tightly

coc o h my, cg h m of h my, com m

h m mg, o o y yhg. th wh boh m h.

th co hg, h mo mm mu w w bou h w

wh w w g o of h tz'lm zo. W h ju coclu

xc w w g fo h x o, h h amy rbb

ofcer came along with his ranks, uniform and all, and asked us if we were

wllg o l o bb who w wh hm, cvl . W g. U

cm m who ouc hmlf rbb Ch, h w h m, who

cm cvl o k o u. th whol lk w o: h

rst point throughout his speech later you see it in the pamphlets as well is

h cy of h pol of il. H u h wy: h h whl gog

h, w houl kow h o ccoug fo h c. th mg

of h, i'm gg o om o h whch vbl, ohwo o o lz how oblmc uch m . Wh bb y

'h' o ccoug,' h mg h wh o zo h

ully vy gou vyo f o o o kow wh

wll h, wh h fuu h o fo u, of cou h f. such

fears are intensied by each person's own past and deeds he must confront, and

ully h lwy h ml f h h h lc wh ll my

wll b fo. so vw of h, h bb u y: o' woy h'

o ccoubly. O h mo bc lvl h how i u h mg.

i o' y oh wy o . Fuhmo, h m co m bou h fuu: f h lly o ccoubly fo wh i hv

o h , h ully h o fo wh i m bou o o h

mm o fuu. i oh wo, w houl kow h whv w

do is ne.


42/112

W thr t th pt? Wht h bt th?

aoh o h cm u w wh h bb w cully coucg

h w of 'h o of lgh' g 'h o of k.' th fc

m wh hghly mc lgug. th w h h wy fo

nal redemption. This is outrageous in itself. Again, we witness a language that

is not acceptable to all present, denitely a legitimate view and as such I haveno problem with it. But it must not receive any kind of ofcial stamp, it must not

b u wh y mly fmwok. i ju lk olcl vw. Bu h mo

ubg o v, h h hologcl o, mozo of h oh

. i u h oh gly o 'o of k' whl w bcom

'sons of light.' There is no differentiation which we would expect to nd between

civilians and others. Namely, here is one people ghting another people, with all

h mc mlco. Bu h' h o: h lo lgou og.

i oh wo, h my o vvl mg. th o h o ol

l. thy o o u o ufom o o b Juz b bo h

fh.

****

TesTimony 17 - House demoliTions & Rules of engagemenT

Wh w go h, h m molo w wf, u cook.

From the point we got there, infrastructure work began. D-9s were brought in

hy wok oo o z och k ow hou uc of

containing tunnels. Occasionally there was sniper re inside the refugee camps

h w m o c h ouc, m w c comb

helicopters and tank re at the house that was supposedly the source of re. You

have to be extremely professional to detect the source of re and direct exactly

ow . th g w ov klom vy cow .

Detectin snipe e ove a kiloete away inside a efee cap is nealyb.

Tank re was directed in response.

Tanks in heavy anition, shells?

Yes. After detecting sniper re.


43/112


Wh rct th d-9?

th u comm.

H w c whch h w t b tk w?

Y. af coulg h comy comm. th comy comm woul

request conrmation of the Brigade Headquarters and the unit commander wouldwok cly wh hm.

In all of that hose azin activity, wee thee cases of explosive chaes

blowin p?

no whl i w h.

a th rchr r?

Not while I was there. But I was told there were during the rst week.

Yo'e sayin thee was plenty of infastcte wok din yo week

thr.

Y.

Hw d-9 ct?

two o h.

Wokin nonstop?

Y i w' block of cow bulg wh hou z h

ml. th w c bulg. i fmg , h ly of

fruit groves between houses. There's sort of a street, several streets, not well-

o fucu, o f kg ow hou h w h b flg,

bu you h fu gov o och whch w olly z hou

k ow h ovll mgh b h vyhg w my. i'

o lk h. th w hou k ow h h. th flg '

ll u, ll h w oy h w hll fom h

bombg bfo h gou offv. a l h h logcl xlo.W w h fo wk, o og oo much bclly holg ou oo,

bg o h lookou, g ou occol ch, kg oh hou

over to search it. At some point our ofcer decided he'd hold a grenade-launching

cc bcu w h' mg h bfo w . so w w o

hou x oo, ook oom, ch o cm log hw

grenade inside. The house was totally devastated. At some point a grenade ew

ou wow h g , g lkg w o h cc.


44/112

W bck. Occolly om cvl woul how u. aoh foc ch

hou by fou cvl . thy mbl hm, i o' kow

wh hy wh hm. O y om fug, cvl, cm w

ch k wy, o mbl h hou x oo. i hk hy h

b h h whol m. th w o much cool ov h. thy w

u Joh ( ff o h vw h w cb hJoh ocu, ug pl cvl hum hl ug hou

searches), and then released, and were nding them in later searches.

****

TesTimony 18 - BRiefings & Rules of engagemenT

i gl, w h quck comb ocu. igly, 24 hou bfo hoperation began, a general brieng was held about how long we were going in

for. The battalion commander said he estimates about 3-4 weeks. You couldn't

kow fo u. th blo comm goo k, kow how o

mov u. O of h hg h oo ou w ubjcv , omhg

vy mv bou h whol hg. H w w gog o xc

re power with artillery and air force. We were given the feeling that we were not

ju bg ou h, bu wh omou cuy cov. H

y, "i' o h you' ou o cy ou mc, bu" h w h

o vyhg h h bfo, bw h ow jok whch

made me laugh, too. Like, "We have an Arabic-speaking grenade launcher, and

a heavy machine-gun that speaks Arabic." This was the spirit of things.

Was anythin said abot les of enaeent?

My mo bou ul of ggm w h, l ou lvl, hy

w o cl. th w o cl l. i ub ' vy much

the commanders' own discretion. As for the re-power actually used, the feeling

w of w g gul my. O h o h, w w ol o vyhouse under live re. A grenade or two, shooting, and only then we enter. Things

were said that in a way made us condent that our own lives were top priority.

****


45/112


TesTimony 19 - BomBaRdmenT

Wht w th bjctv th rt?

It was very clearly dened: to gain control of the area, there would be no Qassam

re while we were on the ground; aiming to strike a real blow at Hamas, to theo ogzo gl.

How ae yo sitated to bein with, ae thee seconday defense positions?

H?

My own company, of our battalion, goes in rst. We wait for two of the battalions

to occupy their objectives, they nish, then we follow.

The taets ae elds?

no. a ghbohoo. no qu kbh, bu l.

i t rr r?

Y. Cy ouk. W' u fcg m o. th whol cov hg

starts, massive re, auxiliary re, and then my company goes in. We hold the

line of houses across the road, following heavy re. In the rst phase, we open

re in every zone.

Wht rt ? Wht th z ct?

th comy' g clu jc o h hou. th'

o c o k of. som xlov fou hou, wo,

signicant stuff like that, but no real resistance. Behind there's another strip of

gardens and small orchards, elds.

Yo o into evey hose?

Y.

Yo o in, einfoced by ota e, heavy eqipent, achine ns

?

F of ll, gog w hv lly foc cov, comb hlco,

vyhg. a mo oo.

So yo position yoselves and then what? Bein a sleep cycle and ove

?

Bg g u f. s bg, ll hoog hol h wll, bul u

ouo, l h f of h hou. a h of h y h loo


46/112

u h hou. ech hou bcom mll my ouo wh oo,

w o.

Wht r t t?

No signicant missions came out of the house. Days afterwards, for example,

every time we'd move houses, we'd re on the houses around, on every zonew' . W' mov hou u w, loo woul chg ou,

' o uch chg. i h o y wo o h hou ou

y h.

Did yo see any people in the neihbohood, at all?

Yes. These are the outskirts of Gaza City, not a village. At rst there were civilians

in the houses we entered. In the rst house that was taken, there was a family

whch w mbl o oom, f hou o wo, h m mog,

w w uc o mk hm lv wlk o h cy.

****

TESTImONY 20 - ruLES OF ENgAgEmENT

Our objective was to split the Gaza Strip, fragment it. Netzarim is the mid-point

ou objcv w o l h s fom h ml. W o h , h'

our mission. We reach the rst house and even at a distance, simply becauseh' h uco, w hoo bcu h o o w uo

o b . Fly w bu wo y l hy w fom w w

coming. From a distance the house is taken down and there is lots of gunre. A

D-9 bulldozer makes the rounds to verify that the house is not booby-trapped.

Suddenly the D-9 jumps in the air and the entire ground oor collapses as well

as part of the second oor.

Did the blldoze hit an explosive chae?

Yes, nothing happened to it. We moved to an alternate site and again, red like

czy.

What did yo e with?

Hvy mch gu w h o apC, luch.


47/112


Yo liht as?

Y. th w' oo much qum o molh h hou fo w h o

y . th h f h yo h hou who woul fom of

our coming, he would be taken down. We hold our re and approach the house

c. W hv om fllow fom cl u of h Co of eg

who would blast the door open. Suddenly we see an old man, about 60-70 yearsol. H com ou wh wh kchf y abc, "do' hoo, o'

hoo". abou 30 mo ol follow h ol m, ll of hm o c, o

o wou o h.

At what ane did yo taet the hose?

30 m.

a th c t th h?

Y. a o o w hu. amzg. W w hock, oo. eclly fg h hou g wh w o . no o w hu. abou

hy ol com ou of h, clug chl, wom lly. thy g

c ju lk h W Bk, wom hol h gm gh g

h bo, m k off h , u ou, hy' chck o

mk u hy' o cyg yhg.

y rt th?

Y. Wom m. You oc hm o by o. You cthem one by one. It took place outside the house. According to the brieng we

h, f w cou uch cvl, w w o ch hm wy o h ouh.

rmmbg w' lg h s o h ouh of u h o foc,

and indeed we're exposed to re from the south, but if there are civilians, we

houl ch hm wy o h ouh. th w h fml, o h h of

each family, and only he entered their home for ve minutes, took whatever he

hy h o oc ouh.

o t?Y. thy hv o vhcl

****


48/112


H (h blo comm) lo ok bou hvg o m l

o b f, h h h w o lm cofoo uch

Hbo, o o h o hoo f w uc omo, o fl b bou

uco bcu ll o fo h fy of ou ow ol.

Bt yo had liht as, yo wee not in tanks. And destction, I ean

how ch of that cold yo inict?

It was a combined operation. There's a D-9 bulldozer and 'Matador' (missile) that

c fo bulg. H h whv w oy c b bul, bu

h lf of ol oc kll co b o.

d h k tct btw cv trrrt?

th, oo, w mo l, o h m lk, h f w omhguc hoo, b h oc h h o g my. You

exercise judgment. The rst house we entered contained not a single enemy.

We red at windows and re was not returned. So we went in and opened it the

wy w uully go hou Hbo: w go , cll ou o h ow o o,

gh ll h ml, hckl hm, gh h fmly o oom

bg o ch h hou. th o omhg h uully o w.

Wh tr h, kw wht wr t

rt r thr r th Wt Bk? Hw th rt?

Wh you hou, h h co my. You' uo

to shoot your way in. We didn't do this in the rst house because we had opened

re and no re was returned. So we assumed there was no one there. Then we

kock o h oo ol hm o cll vyo ow, gh hm

oom comb h lc culy, lookg fo cmg ml:

wo, o, og uff.

Who did yo nd in the hose?

Men, women and children. This was our rst objective in the operation plan. We

wlk , ch h ghbohoo bg h offv vc. Whl

you' ckg you hoo lo v whl coug o o. You mk

u you' o bg u. sy w hohou cug

: you cu hol h hohou, hoog h l ow. You'

not on automatic re, but you do give a few bursts to make sure you won't be

u.


49/112


50/112

50

mbuh. a oo omo hm you hoo. th ' l'

procedure is to report, request permission to open re.

Is thee sspect-aest pocede like wanin e o callin ot to

whvr' thr? i 't rk . it' th t' rvt

lanae.

Y, ' v co.

i rch, hw r h? d hv

eaphones?

no. W o'. i o' kow how you fom hm. Bfo w , h foc

dropped yers and people were supposed to get out of there. As for those who

' g ou, w w o hoo h o h f. Bu f omo woul

co h l, you w uo o hoo hm. Ul h' cl

announcement, for there were humanitarian ceaseres all the time, when wew o hoog.

Wht w th tc btw th h ch r ?

100 m. a lgh m g. th lo h wh u h

hou who gh fuh wy c och.

Hw c t tht tk wth th btt cr?

i ' fl h g, olly. th w bcu of h wy h x

hmlf bou c hg. th gl flg w h w w g h

oo wh zl, ol w g hmlv vvg hmlv

u bfo gog , h gog h.

Wht h tht trb ?

"My b abc lo my g luch." i o' mmb h cox,

ju h g of hg.

p r brw t th?som. Bu h' wh oubl m mo. O of h ol com h

gou u o og who' b u lo. th og g ll wok u h

' c omo o o 'go g hm.' i' u. ify blo

lo of h ou vc, ' lk h y my. Youg ou fo

co mo of hm hv y c vw ywy, om of hm y "i

o' w w, bu wh c w o, h how hg w'll v hv

c wh h ab." th' h gl cu. O h oh h h

om ol wh lf vw, bu hy' h moy.


51/112


52/112

5

foc, wh whch yo c uc g c uo oo h

shbk oky .

Wr th r?

No. The report specied that they were unarmed. But that's not the point. The

o h fou m g ou h hou cofg look uc.

And that takes place 300 etes fo o foces?

200-300 meters. And it's on a hill. Our forces are downhill, and they're standing

above, say two-thirds of the way up.

****

TesTimony 23 - Rules of engagemenT & Home seaRCHes

i ou wok h ouo, wow, obvo o you

wch ou o, f, y, you kow h you hv cuo gh,

you mgh go fo wlv hou o mo, bu wlv hou w h vg m of

an incursion: you go out, take the house, spend two-three inside, then go back

o h m hou o o oh o. You you o, h vg, you

realize that at midnight you're already going out, you see the ghter planes bomb

you g, you wlk, ly gh x o h k h hllg h hou

which you will be entering, then you go into urban ghting, with live gunre. Ifyo w h bfo, h' o chc h ll h. i o o

gl ab h whol m w w h, h whol wk. You o ch

h g wh blk o mll g bu. Whh hy ug h ch

bcu hy w fo you o bcu h' f ug h hllg. You

h w ol h ul cly. i h hou, w v, w

entered through a hole broken in the wall by a tank shell. You try to re a RPG

o Lu ml. Bu h k h o vully mkg h hol. You' lo

told to wreck the oor tiles to check for tunnels. Television sets, closets youo' kow wh' wg h. My xlov chg w fou, hy lo

blw u, o o w hu. tk Co o Co of eg u blw hm u.

Uully hy o xlo bcu mo of h o w fou w w

h o b o, bu whov w uo o o hm h u off.

i w lv, howv, y


53/112


Yo talk abot tanks in while ovin. Was thee assive e?

Y, hllg, mch gu o k, ou oo. Bfo you hou, you

hooi c' y h' h c of ol wg o l go, yg o

luch h Lu ml hy' houlg, o h h comm w h.

Y. i c' quo yo, bu w h . polly i hk ' h, i' b

lyg f i w y c. sll wh i w, h c, h o wnot over-zealous. I think some forces were more zealous than ours, perhaps the

gul. Bu mog v you fl ol w o g o wh quckly

obl g bck hom. i w h wy gu uy hf wll. th

comm oo, vy much o, fc. ev f h ol w o hoo, h

'. Bu wh h h chc, h h . pofolly h ' lly

o hoo f h k h wck h hou, bu h' my ow ol

feeling. We did re a Lau missile once. So that's more or less what we did there

fo wk. phyclly h hou w u.

i o hou w i w guy h fc w. th w

drawings and grafti on the walls. I don't even remember what. I remember a

lthy drawing in a children's nursery. There were Mickey Mouse and Minnie

Mou ck h, omo h w hug ck o M Mou.

i lly fl hm h, o o guy who w wh m. i w fuy

because it was drawn really well, but you feel lthy. Even to tell about it.

Whr w th?

i B Lhy, hou wh w h lc gul ol. W w uchhg wo hou. i o h w fw wg o h wll, om of hm

v m wh lck, h clo w ll h. i ou . You

com ou of wck hou ll w cl u f oulv. W h lo

of foo lf whch w lf fo hm (h fmly). W l u ll h m.

In Operation 'Defensive Shield' I was platoon sergeant. People slept on the oor,

we locked up the living room in another room and slept on the oor. In Gaza it

w ff. W u ol' m blk, bu w ' l

h b. W ook ow h m, h w ly of m

ch hou, l o hm. W ' u h w. W ' hv o.th' , i hk. th' mo o l wh w lk.

Is thee anythin beside the shit in the dawes that seeed 'ncalled fo'

t ?

no, you c y o ' hv o mh lvo o hoo clo

hough, bu yg h woul b ug o . i ' go o hou

kck lvo i ' y of my v o h. O h oh


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55/112


of h ol l cyclly: "so kll h oco." th comm l

mgly, o ug h cycl , wc: "W' moccy,

w c' o hg h wy w woul lk o o hm." H ' lv y m

fo quo, h.

How did the ys eact at this bien?

My guy w o hock. i w. My w u, bu h ' lv

y m fo quo, f yo w o k bou h cvl oulo.

Bcu, g, h ' v mo cvl.

y tht r cv r tk bt.

Yes. There was a discussion at the end of our term of duty, led by the brigade-

comm, colol, who h h my how coo. H

mo h cvl. Bu h w f w ll ov.

usally the isse of civilian poplation is boht p?

Y.

a d-9 rtr, th cv t r tchc r

line becase of yo eld of vision and the size of yo eqipent and all.

In yo ela sevice, is that soethin that is especially ephasized?

The D-9 operator is not the one who can show consideration to the civilian

oulo. i m, h c oly o mo mg h h ly mu, bu h

co how coo. if h' o o "molh hou," h molh

hou. O h oh h, h coul b h y of oo who bcm fmou

(h my' vo of) J, who wh uc o molh c

hou look fo h ou h woul vbly molh h lg umb

of hou o h wy o h g hou.

So coandin ofces wee sittin in on this talk?

Yes, the entire company, as well as the battalion-commander, company-

comm.

They actally desinated taets on the ap?

Y.

Yo ae sally assined to a foce on the ond; yo ae not diectly

sbodinate to the Cops of Eninees.

th' h uul o of hg. W' g o oh foc. Bu wh w

did, two tanks led an armored convoy, two D-9s led an armored convoy. What


56/112

5

w , ou objcv w o molh hou. W w cu by hvy apC

k. i h c h k w g o u h h h oh wy

around. There were ve or six D-9s active on the ground all of the time. And

hvy apC k h cu u.

So when did yo actally o in?

if i'm o mk, h gou foc bg o o thuy.

This is afte the infanty had been thohot this aea?

Y. th w comlly my. evyhg w my.

ghost town, not a sol in siht?

Y.

So yo o in, who coands the opeation, this ission?amo Co, i gu.

So how did yo et yo odes? Yo sat with a location ap?

First there was a brieng before entry, and then inside Gaza, and we got our

uco ov o.

y'r t, "s tht h th t? g r t"?

Y.

Yo wee doin ainly hoses thee?

Y, hou, gculul wll, och hohou.

Those aeas whee yo destoyed hothoses and elds, wee thee any

explosive chaes thee?

The battalion got two explosive charges as well as anti-tank missiles.

Aainst the D-9s?

Y. a i hk h m coc w h ul w bg bul fom wh

ho hou.

T bct r?

Y.

So why deolish one hose and not the othe, becase of intellience on


57/112


th t?

Y, llgc fomo.

And in the aicltal aeas, do yo ecall explosive chaes aainst

?

Y.

How ch was actally deolished thee? Anythin the likes of which

yo had seen as a ela soldie?

th w . Uully hou molo o omhg you o lo. if i

mmb cocly, fom h blo comm' lk h , h

"W molh 900 hou." th mgh o b boluly c, bu w

lly hug umb. W molh lo. th w ol who h b

Gz fo wo y coly molhg o hou f h oh, w'

lkg bou whol blo, o coul b. th w lo of hou, h'

fo u. th blo w cv boh h oh h ouh, bu oly

jc o h fc.

In yo bien yo wee told yo wold be cleain explosive chaes

becase infanty wold be followin yo?

no.

d c tr ?

no.

So in fact yo wee the closin foce. The aea had aleady been 'cleansed.'

itr h r b thr, w r .

Y.

Yo ys coe to deal with all the aeas whee intellience epots tnnels

ch.

Y, o hou h w u o hoo ou of, uff lk h.

And when yo wap thins p, yo wee thee at the end?

By the time the operation ended we had been inside for three weeks. The rst

week there were briengs, the second week mostly operations, and the third

week was already under ceasere, but we were still going in, this time closer

o h fc o molhg hou, ju och uff lk h. Oly


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5

hg h f wh gou coo. W' lvl h gou h fc

o x vbly fom il.

Hw r r th c?

200 m. i ' go h o, bu w 200 m.

****


th blo comm h woul b lo lo of o w

houl lly wch ou bu o' woy, vyo wll hv k ly of ol

down. At the brieng, I think it was the day we were about to go on to another

mo, h w lkg bou ou gog o Gz, h wll b ly ofo fo vyo.

evyo w o bou o ggg yo. You go czy

yg fo omhg o h ly. som ol fom so h

ouh il locl lo w o k vg (fo h ock hllg o

h homow) o o. so h comy comm , "do' woy,

once we go in you'll have no space left on your rie butt, you'll have to mark your

X-s on your shirt sleeves" When the battalion commander spoke, his personal

mg w h h w o wllg fo y of u o g hu o k hmlf

bcu of uc, f h' w k ow yo. H woul o

vyhg h ow o h o of h ol woul g hu. th w h

general attitude in the army: go in with insane re power because this is our only

vg ov hm.

And was thee eally sch seios e powe?

There were rockets, Lau, whole containers of Negev machine-gun ammo ying

ou h, i'm ll lkg o you ju bou h fy, l lo comb

hlco k ll h.

Whee did all of this y aond?

suc lc. th w ly of luch. You kow you' gog o

hou uully y u ' h my, o ju o . so you

luch ll h wow, h wll, h h Mo. tk k ow

hou f hy' o u bou hm. O gh hy w o h

disappeared so they decided he'd gone into a tunnel, so they brought a D-9 and

z h whol och.


59/112


Oky, i lz h ool coo wh c you o, v f

hu o . no o mmuo o wo.

What abot the tank takin down a hose?

somm you kow h hou my. You kow f you c kow.

now f h hou u you f l, you k ow wh k o bulldozer. We took an eight-story house and the instruction was not to enter any

doorway because it would be booby-trapped. That's what we have the Matador

fo, o k ow wll hough h. Bu h Mo ov lf

omwh l ffcv, o k hll ou hol h wll h' how

w go .

Wht mtr?

i' ml fo ub wf. i' vy ffcv. Bu wh w w wh w

didn't really use it so much. There were places where we red at a house andh cov h w ol .

Was thee a notion of deteent e, show of pesence?

Sure. Every other day we'd initiate a blast of re. Not towards people. Just at

wow whch w' obv fo whl kow h h hou my. no

o woul y hou clo o h o h idF w yg . thy coul

lv fuh wy.

At what level wee the e blasts? Liht as? Tanks?

As for re power, it was light arms and Negev machine-guns. Tanks re only

u uco. th w c wh k w u h comm of

h comy. th w lo c wh hlco v h comy

comm ol hm wh o k ow.

Wht h thr?

a w bg h offv, h w hou h clo o h o w occu,

o w ook ow. th gou fo h w ool, w hou hh gc vg ov h o w w g . W w o o h

h w o wo bu w ook ow bcu cooll ou

ow oo.

****


60/112

0


th gh h fy w w muv ***. W h o g o h b

l, bfo k bou hlf hou o hou l. W w h

zvou ***, mbl o of h mbly hll h blo

comm hl ch fo h whol blo. H w o gog o bsimple. He dened the operation goals: 2000 dead terrorists, not just stopping

h ml luch (il) commu ou h Gz s. H clm

h woul bg h Hm ow o k. th umb woul b ucc

fo h my. a fo ul of ggm, h my' wokg umo w

h h whol woul b vo of cvl. a oo h my woul go

, fom h oh, c h ll o fmg c ul you g o al

a, o c, h woul o log b ol h, o f w

w coc yo h uc h wokg umo w h

o cvl woul ll b ou. thy woul c ouhbou o Gz Cy.ayo h, f h my w coc, w o b kll.

sht t k?

th wo w o u, mo lk mly xo uch 'k hm

ow.'

no o 'kll oc.' Bu h uco w h fo h my, yo

h uc houl b k ow.

W thr t ct? d rc ch cr?

do' k m my wo, bu w obvou, h blo comm m

vy cl h obvouly f omo' oc, hy' o o b ouch.

Clly h objcv w o g o, bu i hk h mly c w h

rule of the game. Everyone was certain we were going to face massive re as

oo w go o h s. th u of cvl bcm lv oo

you' comb h ul chg. You hoo. i' w. i w o quo

are asked. In war those anti-tank missiles are blowing up people all around you

that's the situation that was anticipated there, and that's what dened the rulesof ggm. i h oy, cvl w l lv.


61/112


TesTimony 27 - House demoliTions

Of hou h w uc bcu of ul o xlov chg w

hou h w g wh vou hohou hll, hkg h woul

cv ll h chg. i oh wo, hohou w o v g,

simply make it all go up in ames, which then ignited the explosive charges. Andh ul. evyhg w g.

Is that what yo wee told at the peliinay bien?

no, i y ow comm. th w o l of og.

Wh hr bt th hhr, r wh?

i o , h w ll o of umo bu i w wh my ow y o of

h hou ou mm .

Wht' th tr?

th oy w h hou w ouly uc of cog xlov

chg. th w lo llgc fomo bou ul h lk.

Naturally a shell was red, that didn't do too much. We didn't get the indication

w w, o h lly foc c o g h hou, hy w

h o ug hohou. th' wh cully h. i o' mmb

whether they red just one shell or more, I think there were several used. This

house went up in ames. Later there were secondary blasts and shelling into

il o h hou w ghly uc. Bu 'xlog mok' w

denitely used there.

d th hhr ht jt th h?

i o' kow fo u. i w bcu i w o gu uy h gh. i c

k of umbll. i xlo vl oz m bov h hou fom

umbrella of re on the house. To tell you that it was pinpoint precision? Artillery

never achieves pinpoint precision. But I know that the artillery ofcer said the hit

w o g.

a tht th rc rtr r r?

W k hg lly. W w clo ough o h bo o h boh h

ring and the impact. There was also mortar re from our own outpost. Targeting

hou.


62/112

mv rtr?

i o' kow wh you m by mv. Bu i hk h oz of m

ug h wk w w h.

prc rtr? d rbr?

a mo o co wo. i uully mo c h 52mmclb mo, bu o y ' c? i o' hk yo co co

wo. ag, i' lk o h h ghbohoo h w kow wh

cy my of ol, o l h o uo o b ol h.

Whov h co ug. th h och. Obvouly.

Therefore, the main fear is for the lives of soldiers. The risk of friendly re. That's

the story here. But mortars were denitely used.

****


So yo take positions that st day inside, and then what's the otine

k?

At rst we took positions, in the two-three-four rst days all the tanks were in

oo. th gu h comm o vy wo hou, om o

the driver and loader-signaler also rotate, monitoring the area near the tank.

svl y l h guy fom blo *** w kll by bull o h

h, uco cm ou fobg u o xo ou h ou of h

k. Oc vy fw gh w' go ou o co.

Wht tht ?

At rst we were in our own zone, here. We took positions in this area. We cleaned

h ghbohoo.

What does 'cleanin neihbohoods' actally ean? How was it done in

gz?

th hou wh fy h o y . W com log. F

hll o hou h h l, .


63/112


Yo knock a shell only into that specic hose?

Depending on the instructions we receive. Once we red twelve shells at a

house. Someone was reported to be shooting automatic re there at the infantry

guys. So rst it was really in the area we left behind, and then slowly we entered

h, cully gog o al a lo. th x gh, ow h of h

rst week. The following Saturday night we already went into Al Atatra, detectedh o, kll hm. th, gg ou of h w w wh oo,

they came in from here. We were on this track here with some two-three tanks.

We cleared the area, shooting at whatever the infantry identied for us, we also

c om Hm oo h, obbly. am. Kll h of hm. th

comy comm' k kll oh wo. Comg ou, ou k clo

bh w w h fom h by h rpG. th you u u mok

screen and re a shell as well.

Thee was a lot of enaeent, elatively.no, h w h mo v w h Ou k kll ol, i hk i

c y wh cy h v of hm w m. th w h hg h

h guy lly lk, wh h lookou. You wok wh fym, hy c

lookout about two kilometers from you, and you re a shell.

Wht' kt?

I don't know the exact denition, someone who gives the coordinates to their

mo o , whv.

H' tw ktr w, hw kw h' kt?

i hv, you kow, h hml ghg vc, ck u wo uff.

Bu who kow, coul b cm, o bocul, coul b cu of coff,

you c' ll.

So thee wee any cases whee infanty told yo, o fo this and that

h?

At the second positions. This was our rst advance, then there was another.i w suy gh, w h h h of h oo. so w ook

u oo ov h, lly o o of sh. You fom o

half kilometers away. They have these sky-scrapers there, there were lots of

co. W k wokg wh , fy 'w wow,' wh hy

identify targets for you and you re shells.


64/112

it shtt?

Y, i hk h w ly h oh of Gz Cy. th c.

So in fact infanty tells yo, "That bildin ove thee, lookot on the

oo."

svh wow fom h o, gh, ' h. Wch ou, boom.

s t th kt r th ww?

The window. You shoot even if it's not identied. Let's put it this way. If the

fy fy, chc you wll oo.

****

TesTimony 29 - House demoliTions & BomBaRdmenT

so fo h m mo of fgmg h Gz s, w cully cv

o o cool om hgh o, h whl w w h w ' kow

how log w w o z much obl of h . such zg

uhmm fo ol, ymc uco, blg ol vbly. rzg

was meant to give us the advantage of full control over re and eld of view, to

xcly wh w hg houghou h zo. so h o o coul h

yhg fom u. two o w cully mo fo h uco. i'll

lk ow mo bou h uco of hou bcu h h m oblm

h. O o my b m ool. Mg hou uc o

be booby-trapped, contains tunnel openings, is wired in all sorts of directions,

o h g of ggg. O w hv om ou llgc fomo bou

, mkg uc of ll h hg. smmg fom h ool l of

thinking, is a house from which re is opened, whether light arms or mortars or

ml, G ock, ll ho hg. th hou w molh. You

coul y h y ul xo of h oml my ocu i kow

at least in the Gaza Strip. A house that has often been a source of re hasu hllg, o v b molh ly. Bu h w w ol

h hou o b molh fo h k of "h y f."

Documents

Breaking the Silence - The Gaza Offensive