Former Israeli army spokesperson accuses military of Gaza deception

Media Manipulation Allegations

Ayelet Kroizer, who served in the Israeli military's spokesperson unit during the war on Gaza, said on Monday that the army manipulated facts about its operations to shape public perception. She described how innocent Palestinians were routinely labeled "terrorists" and casualty reports were crafted like public relations materials rather than factual accounts.

Speaking in a post on the social media platform X announcing her new role with Breaking the Silence — an Israeli organization that collects testimonies from former soldiers regarding military abuses — Kroizer stated that the spokesperson's unit operated like a public relations agency rather than an accountable institution. "During my service, I manipulated the details released to the media," she wrote. "I saw how the word 'terrorist' was attached even to innocent Palestinians and how statements were tailored to the target audience and the objective set for it."

From Enlistment to Activism

Kroizer, who was raised in the ultra-Orthodox community, said she waived her military exemption three years ago to enlist during the war, believing she was contributing to national defense at the time. She had never imagined completing her service only to join Breaking the Silence rather than traveling or beginning her studies, adding: "I had never been good at staying silent in the face of injustice, but here I was being asked to do PR for it."

Gaza Death Toll

The Israeli offensive in Gaza that began in October 2023 has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and wounded over 175,000 others, according to figures from Gaza's Health Ministry. The war has also destroyed around 90% of the enclave's civilian infrastructure, displacing the majority of its 2.3 million residents.