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Israel military imposes new restrictions on soldiers’ media coverage amid intel leaks of reservists abroad

January 12, 2025 at 9:30 am

Soldiers stand near an Israeli flag as they receive a briefing near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 5, 2024 in Southern Israel, Israel. [Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images]

Israel’s military has imposed new restrictions on the media coverage of soldiers on active duty, as the risk of legal action against reservist troops travelling abroad continues to grow.

Speaking to reporters this week, Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani informed reporters that the new rules regulating troops  include the prohibition for any colonel or lower rank to display their full names or faces during media interviews – a requirement that pilots and special forces members already adhere to.

The interviewees must reportedly also not be linked to a specific combat event they participate in, so as to further preserve their anonymity and unit affiliations.

Current rules surrounding Israeli troops’ interaction with the media include the key aspect of refraining from posting videos and images from war zones on social media accounts, something which countless Israeli soldiers and reservists have broken throughout the ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

READ: Israel’s Gaza war costs exceed $67B: Report

The Israeli military’s new media rules for its personnel come after an Israeli reservist who was on holiday in Brazil was prompted to flee the country after a Brazilian judge ordered a federal police investigation into his potential involvement in war crimes in Gaza.

The apparent investigation order was the result of allegations from the pro-Palestinian group Hind Rajab Foundation, one of a number of organisations and media groups that Israel’s military said have been “connecting the dots” between troops who posted material from Gaza and then posted other personal content while on holiday abroad.

The new guidelines serve to “protect our soldiers and to make sure they are safe from these types of incidents hosted by anti-Israel activists around the world”, the spokesperson said.

READ: Hind Rajab Foundation files lawsuit against Israel soldier in Sweden