Israeli soldiers admit to killing civilians in Gaza documentary

A new ITV documentary has exposed firsthand accounts from israeli soldiers acknowledging war crimes committed in gaza. The film, titled Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War, includes confessions from troops describing how the israeli military operated without restraint, indiscriminately targeting palestinian civilians throughout the months-long offensive.

“You can shoot without limits”

One armored unit commander, identified as Daniel, said the israeli army imposed virtually no restrictions on when soldiers could open fire. “If you want to shoot without any limitation, you can,” he said, describing a battlefield where every man in a restricted zone was presumed hostile. Another officer, Captain Yotam Vilk, added that normal engagement rules — based on assessing threat, intent, and capability — were abandoned in gaza. “Those rules don’t apply there,” he explained. “If a man walks in a prohibited area and looks between 20 and 40, that’s enough reason.”

“We hit a man just hanging laundry”

A soldier named Eli recalled an incident that underscored the chaos and moral collapse of the campaign. “Life and death no longer depended on procedure or rules of engagement — it was about the commander’s conscience,” he said. Eli admitted ordering a tank strike on a man “hanging laundry on a rooftop,” mistaking him for a lookout. “He had no weapon, no binoculars. The tank fired, the building collapsed, and many were killed or wounded.”

Calls for revenge from military rabbis

The documentary also highlights the role of radical religious figures within the israeli army. Major Neta Caspin recounted how her brigade rabbi told her, “We must take revenge for October 7 — civilians included.” Another ultra-nationalist rabbi, Avraham Zarbiv, who served more than 500 days in gaza, justified the devastation by claiming, “The entire place is a terror infrastructure.”

“Human shields” used in tunnels

Several soldiers admitted that palestinian civilians were forced to act as “human shields,” a practice internally nicknamed the “mosquito protocol.” According to Daniel, “Civilians were sent into tunnels with iPhones to transmit live location data. Once commanders saw it worked, every unit started using their own ‘mosquito’ within a week.”

Witness accounts from aid workers

The documentary also features testimony from aid workers in gaza. A contractor named Sam, who collaborated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, said israeli troops opened fire on unarmed civilians running toward food distribution centers. “Two young men were shot in the head as they tried to reach for aid,” he recalled.

The revelations add to growing international scrutiny of israel’s military conduct in gaza. Rights groups and legal experts have repeatedly called for independent investigations into potential war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.