“팔레스타인 민간인 살해 뒤 하마스로 둔갑시켜”…이스라엘 병사 양심선언

An Israeli soldier has come forward admitting to "rewriting" Palestinian civilian fatalities as "Hammas terrorists" after their Israeli military conducted airstrikes on Gaza. This follows a Gaza hospital bombing in August, which killed 22 people in 2022. The soldier requested anonymity and spoke to the Israeli anti-war NGO Breaking the Silence, AP, and Reuters.

He revealed that the Israeli military often connects civilian victims to Hamas to benefit their image internationally. The soldier stated, "If there is even a slight connection to Hamas, the military can call them terrorists." This practice, known as "post-mortem criminalization," was evident during the August 25th attack on Neaser hospital, where 22 people, including two photographers, were killed.

The soldier claimed that the military could not find evidence linking the camera to Hamas, nor could they link the photographer to a terrorist organization. He admitted, "I decided to speak out after the attack, realizing the military was targeting journalists." Breaking the Silence's Nadav Bavani noted that the military's "post-mortem criminalization" practice automatically grants legitimacy to all gunfire, missiles, and artillery strikes, avoiding investigations.

So far, no one has been held accountable for the airstrikes. The Israeli military has not punished anyone responsible for the attacks. The International Federation of Journalists reported that as of October 2023, at least 73,000 Palestinians had died in Israeli attacks since the 2023 Gaza war began, including 207 journalists.