Growing concerns over 'culture of impunity' within Israel’s military

The Israeli army will ‘hug’ the soldiers who killed three hostages in Gaza, an IDF spokesperson told Sky News yesterday, as concerns mount over a ‘culture of impunity’ within the Israeli military.

“We are, first of all, supporting these soldiers in every way possible,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in an interview following revelations that Israeli troops were responsible for the killing of all three unarmed men, adding that they did act outside the rules of engagement. “I can tell you; we are going to hug them.”

The hostages have been identified as Samer Talalka, 22, Yotam Haim, 28, and Alon Shamriz, 26. An initial investigation by the army revealed that all three Israeli men were ‘shirtless’ and holding up a makeshift white flag in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood east of Gaza City when they were fired upon, having been mistaken for Palestinians.

According to the preliminary investigation, the captives had approached Israeli forces while calling for help in Hebrew. An Israeli soldier shouted “terrorists” to forces nearby, killing two of them. The third fled to a nearby building, crying for help in Hebrew. A second Israeli soldier asked him to come out, but was fired upon from close range as soon as he did.

READ: Israeli military chief takes responsibility for killing 3 hostages in Gaza

Under international law, it is prohibited to shoot anyone raising a white flag. The Israeli army described the incident as a “tragic mistake”, but critics say it is symptomatic of prevalent unchecked violence within the Israeli army.

Human rights organisations, including Israel’s own B’Tselem, have established a troubling pattern, where individuals that are Palestinian or assumed to be Palestinian are targeted with lethal force by the Israeli military, without necessarily posing a direct threat.

The absence of repercussions or meaningful investigation into such incidents, rights groups warn, has led to a culture of impunity and pervasive unchecked violence when it comes to Palestinians.

This comes against the backdrop of a relentless Israeli bombing campaign and ground invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip which has, in just two months, claimed the lives of up to 20,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children.

READ: 92 journalists killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7: Gaza government