Israeli soldiers post their war crimes on social media

Dear Editor,

Members of the Israeli Defense Force, who have served in Gaza, have routinely shared videos and photos on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook that could be considered evidence of their commission of war crimes.

Thousands of these online posts have been amassed by Israeli historian Lee Mordechai, as well as by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit and The Hind Rajab Foundation.

According to an extensive report compiled by Mordechai, these videos and images document the shooting of civilians waving white flags, the abuse of captives, soldiers gleefully damaging and destroying homes and religious sites, the looting of personal belongings, the burning of books in libraries, and the defacing of Islamic symbols, including burning Qurans. 

Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has meticulously verified the authenticity of many of these images, and it has often been able to identify the individual soldiers and their military units.

In addition, at the beginning of the war, members of the IDF operated a propaganda channel on the social media platform Telegram titled, “72 Virgins-Uncensored.”  Its target audience was Israeli citizens, and the channel showed videos and posted photos celebrating and mocking the death and abuse of Palestinians.

The existence of this channel has been confirmed in Mordechai's report, as well as by Israeli media. 

It is stunning that the devastation and suffering in Gaza are rarely discussed in depth in the American media, and that coverage almost never directly implicates Israel or includes interviews with Palestinians.

Terry Hansen

Milwaukee, Wisconsin