The Israeli army is experiencing moral deterioration among its soldiers amid heightened fear, a reserve officer has said, as Israel continues its genocidal war on Gaza.
“Now, everything is permitted, and we have light fingers – too light – on the trigger,” the Israeli officer who did not give his name, said in a letter published by the Haaretz newspaper.
“I don't want to write about the hardship of repeated reserve duty or about the damage it does to one's body and soul, even though these important topics should be discussed more often,” the officer said.
“Rather, I want to discuss values, a problem I'm regrettably contending with as I witness a moral deterioration playing out within the army. Morality is the essence of our human nature and of our link to the divine.”
The officer, who identified himself as a commander of a unit doing reserve duty in Gaza, said the army is fighting “an ongoing battle of trench warfare that is never satiated.”
“The objective of our mission is no longer clear, not even defined, leaving us no criteria with which to measure success,” he said.
“Because we are on a defensive mission, there is a high state of alert and fear of an enemy that might catch us by surprise. This mindset leads to many moral dilemmas.”
The officer said the heightened state of alert since the October 7 attacks had resulted in soldiers firing at Palestinians who approached their positions.
“Sometimes the shooting is justified, sometimes less so. In any event, opening fire happens because the individual soldier on the front line feels threatened or insecure,” he said.
“The blazing sun, the fatigue and the futility augment these feelings even when they are baseless. Even if it's easy to judge them harshly while sitting in an air-conditioned office at the headquarters in Tel Aviv, one must recognise that these feelings exist.”
The officer admitted that killing so many unarmed people is taking its toll on the soldiers. “It's taking a toll on me,” he said.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 73,000 people in Gaza and injured over 173,000 others in a deadly war that has left the entire territory in ruins.
“The unrestricted rules of engagement guarantee that no Gazan will reach the border fence, but they're taking an increasing toll on us, on our values and on our mental state.”
