Israeli army relaxed hiring rules at start of Gaza war, risking civilian casualties: report – Firstpost

The Israeli military relaxed its rules of engagement at the start of the Gaza war, allowing commanders to order attacks on targets despite an increased risk of civilian casualties.

According to a report by New York Times on Thursday, following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas-led gunmen, the military empowered mid-ranking officers to strike a variety of military targets, even if it could result in the deaths of up to 20 civilians.

This order allowed the military to target lower-ranking militants in their homes, surrounded by family and neighbors, rather than only when they were alone outside, the report said.

The report was based on interviews with more than 100 soldiers and officials, including more than 25 people involved in target selection and verification.

The New York Times claimed that the Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report said the military acknowledged that employment rules had changed after October 7, but said its forces had “consistently used means and methods that adhere to the rules of law.”

The Hamas-led attack on communities around the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 killed 1,200 people and saw more than 250 people taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli accounts.

Israel’s ground and air campaign in response has killed more than 45,000 people and injured more than 107,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, displaced most of its 2.3 million population and devastated much of coastal enclaves.

In addition to increasing the number of civilian casualties that could be risked in a single attack, New York Times said the military had removed a cap on the cumulative number of civilians its attacks could put at risk each day.

On several occasions, the military high command approved strikes they knew would endanger up to 100 civilian lives, the newspaper said.

According to him, the military “often relied on a crude statistical model to assess the risk of civilian harm,” mainly relying on estimates of cellphone use rather than extensive surveillance of a single building.

From November 2023, the rules were tightened, including by halving the number of civilian casualties that could be risked in strikes on low-level targets, the paper said. He added that the rules remained much more permissive than before the war.

With contributions from agencies