Israeli military loosened rules of engagement at start of Gaza war, risking civilian casualties: Report

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 the New York Times on Thursday, after 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 permitted 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 added.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

The report was based on interviews with over 100 soldiers and officials, including more than 25 individuals involved in selecting and vetting targets.

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 the rules of engagement had changed after October 7 but said its forces had “consistently been employing 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 taken as hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

Israel’s ground and air campaign in response has killed more than 45,000 people and wounded more than 107,000, according to Gaza health ministry figures, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and laid waste to much of the coastal enclave.

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

On a few occasions, the military high command approved strikes that they knew would put as many as 100 civilian lives at risk, the newspaper said.

It said the military “often relied on a crude statistical model to assess the risk of civilian harm”, mainly depending on estimates of cellphone usage rather than extensive surveillance of a single building.

From November 2023 onward, the rules were tightened, including by halving the number of civilian casualties that could be risked in attacks on low-level targets, the newspaper said. It added that the rules remained far more permissive than before the war.

With inputs from agencies