Recently, the conduct of Israeli soldiers fighting the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip has been the subject of controversy. They mistakenly killed Israeli detainees and wantonly smashed shops, which caused an uproar in Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had to come forward to clarify and assume responsibility and announce a purge of military discipline. These events will be described in detail, analysed and summarized.
According to the Israeli army's confirmation on 15 July, during the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip that morning, the Israeli army mistakenly killed three detained Israelis. This news caused a huge shock in Israel, and demonstrations broke out in Tel Aviv and other places, demanding the swift and safe rescue of other detained Israeli personnel.
According to the preliminary investigation results released by the Israeli army on 16 July, Israeli soldiers were engaged in a fierce battle with Palestinian militants when they suddenly saw three topless men walking out, holding wooden sticks wrapped in white cloths. Israeli soldiers judged that the three were Pakistani fighters and opened fire, killing two and wounding another before fleeing back into the building. Soon after, the wounded reappeared and shouted "help" in Hebrew, but Israeli soldiers shot him dead again. During the autopsy, the Israeli army began to suspect the identities of the three men, and eventually confirmed that they were Israelis in captivity.
In this regard, the Israeli army said that the behavior of the soldiers involved seriously violated military discipline, such as not shooting at detainees, and not shooting at people who raised white flags and surrendered. IDF Chief of Staff Hezi Al-Halevi said: "The three detained Israelis survived a hellish ordeal and walked towards the Israeli soldiers, only to be killed by mistake by us. He also said that the most important thing for the combat forces to hope for was to succeed in rescuing all the detainees, but unfortunately they did not succeed.
In response to this incident, the Israeli army announced that it would take measures to rectify military discipline, such as adding a senior commander to the battlefield to make decisions, and refining and updating the firing guidelines to prevent similar incidents from happening again in battle.
In addition to the incidents of accidental killings of Israeli detainees, the misconduct of some Israeli soldiers during military operations in the Gaza Strip has also attracted widespread attention. Multiple segments appeared on social media platforms and quickly went viral, showing the wanton destruction and burning of Israeli soldiers.
In one of the passages**, an Israeli soldier smashed a toy store, smashed the toys to the ground and toppled the shelves. The person who filmed the ** laughed out loud and had no shame about it. In another section, two soldiers set fire to the daily necessities stored by local residents in a truck.
In response to these acts, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari issued a statement condemning them on the 15th. In any case, he said, these actions are a serious violation of the values of the IDF.
This series of incidents reflects the growing problem of military discipline among Israeli soldiers in the fighting environment in the Gaza Strip. The tragedy of the accidental killing of Israeli detainees has plunged society into a vicious circle, triggering public doubts and anger over the military's actions.
The army is the image representative of the country and the main force for maintaining the country. The behavior of soldiers is directly related to the image of the army and the stability and security of the country. The IDF must therefore give high priority to the issue of military discipline and strengthen education and training to ensure that they are disciplined and adhere to the core values of the army.
As soldiers, they have the heavy responsibility of defending the country, and they must strictly abide by military discipline, follow the norms of humane warfare, respect human rights, and protect civilian lives and property. Every soldier should be well educated and trained, fully understand his or her responsibilities and obligations, and maintain rigor and discipline at all times.
The IDF must promptly and thoroughly investigate manslaughter and wanton vandalism, and seriously hold the soldiers responsible accountable and punish them appropriately. At the same time, strengthen the moral education of soldiers and increase their recognition and observance of military values, so as to reduce the occurrence of similar incidents and protect the dignity of human rights and international humanitarian law in war.
Finally, it is hoped that in the process of dealing with these issues, Israel will fully respect human rights, reduce the suffering of the people caused by the war, and make positive contributions to the realization of peace and development in the region.