Witnesses Confirm Israeli Soldiers Target Gaza Homes for Entertainment: Report
Gaza (Quds News Network)- Israeli soldiers deliberately targeted homes in Gaza for revenge and amusement, soldiers told The Washington Post. Videos, photos, and firsthand accounts reveal shocking acts of destruction, including setting homes ablaze, vandalizing property, and celebrating the chaos.
One soldier confessed to being ordered to burn homes after occupying them. He described how furniture was piled in rooms, soaked in gasoline, and ignited. “They had fun doing it,” he said.
“You feel this very, very strong sense of revenge from everybody,” said Michael Ziv, a reservist in the Jerusalem Brigade. He described fellow soldiers acting with “a sense of religious fanaticism or the desire for retribution.”
“When you’ve spent so much time there, you stop thinking about the Palestinians who live in this house or who will live there in the future,” said a 22-year-old soldier who participated in the burnings.
Social media posts by soldiers show them laughing as they fire tank shells into neighborhoods or torch buildings. In one viral video, a reservist in the Negev Brigade called a massive assault on Gaza homes a “farewell barrage,” with fire emojis captioning the post. A soldier’s voice in the video declared, “Anyone who messes with us will understand this is the outcome.”
Former soldiers confirmed these acts were not isolated. One soldier said homes displaying photos of Palestinian leaders were specifically burned. Another described the widespread looting and destruction of personal belongings, often justified as revenge for the October 7, 2023, Hamas military operation.
Social media has been flooded with videos showing Israeli soldiers laughing and cheering as they fire tank shells into civilian neighborhoods, torch homes, and mock the destruction. Despite official military guidelines prohibiting sharing footage showing such behaviour, soldiers have defiantly shared thousands of clips online, openly boasting about their actions.
The testimonies come amid widespread criticism of Israel’s conduct during the Gaza genocide and ICC warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant. As more videos and accounts surface, calls for accountability continue to grow on the international stage.
The Israeli military claims such incidents are “exceptional” and against its values, but experts warn these actions could violate international law. The destruction of civilian infrastructure without military necessity constitutes potential war crimes under humanitarian law.
