We are racing to kill the largest number in Gaza.. Israeli officers: We kill every Palestinian near the Netzarim axis, even if he is a child

In an investigation that reveals some of the genocide crimes that have been ongoing for more than 14 months in the Gaza Strip, Israeli officers who served in the “Netzarim” axis in the middle of the Strip said that their army shoots dead every Palestinian who approaches the area, even if he is a child or unarmed, and then leaves dogs to devour their bodies.

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz published an investigation on Wednesday evening, based on the statements of a number of Israeli officers and soldiers who said that there is a “race and challenge between the occupation army’s teams to kill the largest number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

According to the officers’ statements, the Israeli army established an imaginary line near “Netzarim” and ordered anyone who approached it to be shot dead, “including those who wandered the road unarmed or were just riding a bicycle.”

The Israeli army set up an imaginary line near Netzarim, and ordered anyone who approached it to be shot dead, “including those who wandered the road unarmed or were just riding a bicycle.”

“This line was not drawn on any map, nor was it written in an official order. If you ask senior army officials, they will probably say it does not exist, but in the heart of the Gaza Strip, north of the Netzarim axis, there is nothing more tangible than it,” the newspaper said.

The army established the Netzarim corridor at the beginning of the war of extermination, to prevent Palestinians who were displaced from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south from returning to their homes.

It was named “Netzarim” in reference to an Israeli settlement that was established in the Gaza Strip before the dismantling of the settlements in the Strip and the withdrawal from it in 2005 after an occupation that had continued since the June 5, 1967 war.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 152,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and elderly people.

corpse line

“The forces in the field have what is called a line of bodies,” a commander in the 252nd Armored Division told Haaretz.

“After the shooting, the bodies are not collected immediately, and packs of dogs come to eat them. In Gaza, they already know that wherever there are packs of dogs, that is where they have to flee,” he added.

The Netzarim axis is 7 kilometers wide, starting near the settlement of Be'eri and ending at the coastline occupied by the Israeli army. The area was completely evacuated of Palestinian residents and its homes were destroyed in order to pave roads and build Israeli military sites.

“In practice, the division commander has designated this area as a ‘kill zone’ and we have to shoot anyone who enters it,” said the commander of the 252nd Division.

Another officer from the 252nd, who recently finished reserve duty, explains how arbitrary the line is: “From the division’s point of view, the kill zone is the sniper’s range, but it’s not just where they get killed, it’s also who gets killed.”

He continued, explaining: “We are killing civilians there and they are considered terrorists.”

He stated that the Israeli army spokesman's statements about the number of Palestinian casualties that each unit, brigade and division is claiming around the "Netzarim" axis area, are turning into a competition between the Israeli forces over who will kill the largest number.

He added: "If the 99th Infantry Division kills 150 (Palestinians), the next one will try to reach 200."

Exclusive footage from Al Jazeera of stray dogs gnawing at the bodies of martyrs in northern Gaza Strip #News #Gaza_War pic.twitter.com/bU9ZOpv7k1

— Al Jazeera Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) December 17, 2024

Moral Lie

The Haaretz investigation includes numerous testimonies from officers who served in the area, about arbitrary killing and the ease with which a Palestinian becomes a “terrorist” after being killed.

“To say we are the most moral army in the world is simply to remove responsibility from the soldiers who know exactly what we are doing there,” a senior Israeli reserve commander who recently served in the Netzarim axis told the newspaper.

“They (the IDF) don’t want to listen to our soldiers, and they ignore the fact that we have been in a place where there are no laws for more than a year, that human life is worth nothing, and the fact that we, the commanders and fighters, are participating in the horror that is happening in Gaza,” he added.

The same officer said that he does not regret wearing his military uniform on October 7, 2023.

"We went to a just war, but it is important to me that the picture that citizens receive is also complete," he claimed.

He explained: “It is time for the public in Israel to know what war looks like, what dangerous acts some commanders and soldiers are committing inside, and what inhuman scenes we are witnessing there.”

independent militia

Before the genocide began, “the approval of the Chief of Staff was required for aerial bombardment or hitting a high-rise building in Gaza, while today the decision falls on the shoulders of lower-ranking officers or even lower-ranking officers.”

Haaretz obtained testimonies from commanders and soldiers in the regular and reserve forces, speaking about the unlimited authority granted to commanders in Gaza.

For example, before the genocide began, “the approval of the Chief of Staff was required for aerial bombing or hitting a high-rise building in Gaza, while today the decision falls on the shoulders of lower-ranking officers or even lower-ranking officers,” according to the same source.

“I couldn’t understand what they were talking about,” the soldier recalled. “A day or two later, a bulldozer came and buried the bodies in the sand. I don’t know if anyone remembers that they were buried there. This thing isn’t just killing Arabs, it’s killing us too. If they call me back to Gaza, I don’t think I’ll go.”

Israel continues its massacres, ignoring two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on November 21 against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.

(Anatolia)