JINHA

NEWS CENTER – Soldiers' testimony from the Israeli assault on Gaza over the summer of 2014 has revealed that soldiers were told to shoot everything that moves in Gaza.

The veterans group Breaking the Silence released a report on Monday based on testimony from dozens of Israeli soldiers deployed in a 50-day war against the people of Gaza. The sizeable majority (more than 1,500) of the 2,100 Palestinians killed in the attack were civilians. The attack also destroyed infrastructure and razed civilian homes across Gaza. The continuing blockade against Gaza since 2007 has made rebuilding almost impossible.

Soldiers said in their testimony that they were told to shoot at anything that moved, among other policies that seemed designed to break any and all rules of war. Israeli command lied to soldiers about the presence of civilians to encourage them to shoot. Soldiers were told to enter houses only after they had opened fire on them with grenade launchers and other heavy artillery.

“There were no rules of engagement. If you see anyone in that area, that person is a terrorist," said one first sergeant who gave anonymous testimony in the report. "In this context, it was simple. They told us they have intelligence that there are practically no civilians remaining in the area, and so if someone comes towards us, that person is a terrorist.”

Another soldiers said that the militarized bulldozers razed houses "as if they were playing in a sandbox."

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