'Psychological warfare': Israeli troops go on looting and vandalism spree across Gaza
Footage
shows soldiers in besieged enclave stealing makeup and necklaces,
setting fire to food supplies and installing Jewish symbols in
Palestinian neighbourhoods
Footage
shared on social media shows Israeli soldiers setting fire to scarce
food and water supplies in the Gaza Strip (X/Screengrab)
Since Israel
launched a ground operation in Gaza in late October, footage has
emerged of troops carrying out violent and provocative acts that appear
to have little to do with furthering their stated aim of destroying
Hamas.
This has included theft, destruction of businesses and properties,
vandalism, and the installation of Israeli and Jewish symbols across
Gaza’s neighbourhoods.
Such behaviour has been blamed on indiscipline, but analysts believe it is also a form of “psychological warfare”.
In one example of theft, a soldier bragged about stealing a silver necklace from Gaza to take back to his girlfriend in Israel. Another troop stole a rug from a Palestinian home.
In a post shared on a popular Facebook group, an Israeli officer gloated about seizing a host of sealed makeup items to take to Israel as “gifts from Gaza”.
The top comment under the Facebook post read: “It's better if you
delete the post... Gives us a bad name... not because I care about that
Gazan woman, I wouldn't care if she never sees the light of day again, I
care about the soldier who could be put on trial, and about the IDF's
reputation."
Meanwhile, a Palestinian musician told Middle East Eye
he was shocked to discover that an Israeli soldier had stolen and
played his guitar on the rubble of his destroyed home in northern Gaza.
Elsewhere, footage emerged
of a Palestinian gift shop being completely destroyed, as well of an
Israeli soldier rummaging through a woman’s underwear and using
derogatory remarks about her.
Another clip shows a soldier setting fire to scarce food and water supplies.
“There is a long history of Israeli soldiers vandalising the homes of
Palestinians they invade,” Laleh Khalili, an academic and researcher at
the University of Exeter, told MEE.
“During the Nakba and successive wars of conquest in the historic
lands of Palestine, in Lebanon in the early 1980s, and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories during successive invasions, such behaviour has
been rife,” she added.
“Israeli soldiers have left graffiti - often using quite violent,
even genocidal, language; defecated in kitchens; looted valuable
personal items; destroyed everyday objects and belongings; and taken
trophy photographs of themselves.”
Troops hint at 're-settlement' in Gaza
The sheer scale of the footage prompted Israel’s military to put out a condemnatory statement.
“In any event that does not align with IDF values, command and
disciplinary steps will be taken,” Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military's
spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday.
As well as looting and vandalism, Israeli troops have also been seen installing Israeli and Jewish symbols across the enclave.
'The vandalism and looting we see is likely both a result of indiscipline and an element of psychological warfare'
- Laleh Khalili, University of Exeter
A 13-metre high Hanukkah menorah was installed in Shujaiya, one of the most populous areas of central Gaza. Israeli flags have also been planted across the besieged enclave.
“I wonder how many Israelis understand that the entire Zionist project looks like this picture to the Palestinians,” wrote journalist Dimi Reider on X, responding to a picture of a flag in the middle of a destroyed neighbourhood.
Another image taken in Khan Younis in a Palestinian home shows
several Israeli troops holding up a poster that states: “Only
settlements [in Gaza] is victory.”
In 2005, Israel purportedly pulled out of Gaza and relocated around
8,000 Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers living in 21 settlements
around Gaza to the occupied West Bank.
Several far-right figures, including government ministers, have called in recent weeks for rebuilding Israeli settlements in the enclave.
'Psychological warfare'
Khalili said that the idea of a disciplined Israeli military was “a myth”.
“The military is made of conscripts, most of them committed Zionists
who believe in their right to settle anywhere between the River Jordan
and the Mediterranean Sea,” she said.
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“The ranks of the officers of the Israeli military are populated with
some of the most fanatical settler types who - like the right-wing
elsewhere - have always been drawn to militaries and other coercive
institutions.”
Several commentators have posited that the footage was a deliberate attempt at “psychological warfare”.
“The videos of Israeli soldiers stripping Palestinians and looting shops seem to be deliberately leaked to demoralise Gazans and bolster morale domestically,” wrote journalist Murtaza Hussain.
“But they send a negative signal internationally where it’s promoted
the IDF is a highly professional Western-style military,” he added.
Khalili said: “The vandalism and looting we see is likely both a result of indiscipline and an element of psychological warfare.
"If it weren't, official military websites and social media groups
wouldn't be posting and publicising some of this egregious behaviour.”