Killing Palestinians is ‘pleasure’: Shocking testimonies from Israeli soldiers in Gaza

Testimonies from Israeli reserve soldiers who participated in the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip revealed field orders to kill anyone who “approaches” the “Yellow Line,” assuring that some soldiers seemed to take “pleasure” in killing Palestinians.

The shocking testimonies appeared in a report by The Associated Press, based on the accounts of three Israeli soldiers who requested anonymity.

The soldiers participated in military operations in various parts of Gaza between October 2025 and January 2026 before being discharged. They stated that their motivation for speaking out was their “anger and sadness at what they witnessed.”

The soldiers highlight field practices that raised questions about the rules of engagement during the ceasefire, which the soldiers considered a “joke.”

They spoke of targeting individuals without verifying their identities and described the atmosphere “like a jungle.” They asserted that some forces treated killings as routine, and some even seemed to take pleasure in killing Palestinians.

The Israeli army announced in October that it controlled 53% of Gaza after redeploying to the so-called yellow line under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.

The arrangement envisioned additional Israeli withdrawals under the second phase, launched in January. The yellow line refers to a temporary separation zone in eastern Gaza dividing areas under Israeli military control from areas where Palestinians are allowed to remain.

But Palestinian sources have said that the boundary has been steadily pushed westward in recent months.

The Israeli soldiers confirmed that a state of “confusion and disarray” prevails within the army inside the besieged enclave, amid a complete lack of clarity regarding the rules of engagement surrounding the yellow Line.

The soldiers indicated that military commanders were “publicly showing a commitment to the (ceasefire) agreement, while privately expressing their desire for the war in Gaza to continue.”

One soldier reported witnessing his comrades “shouting in celebration and exchanging congratulations” after they targeted a Palestinian vehicle traveling near the Israeli-controlled area in Gaza, killing all of its occupants.

The soldier stated that similar scenes “have become commonplace” since the fragile ceasefire agreement took effect last October.

The Israeli soldier, in his twenties, explained that he “saw soldiers relishing the opportunity to pursue anyone who crossed, or even approached, the Yellow Line.”

He said that “it was like a jungle; after the ceasefire was announced, the orders we received were clear: if anyone crossed this line, shoot them on sight.”

A soldier said, “Calling what’s happening a ceasefire is nothing but a joke.”

The Israeli army responded to the AP, claiming that “the area adjacent to the Yellow Line is a sensitive operational environment, where there are signs prohibiting approaching it.”

The army claimed that it “does not target civilians simply for approaching the line, and that its rules of engagement require the use of warnings before resorting to force. In cases of direct threat, forces are entitled to intervene.”

But one soldier, who spoke to the AP and Breaking the Silence, an Israeli NGO that documents soldiers’ testimonies, said, “Often, the soldiers were positioned very far away, acting too quickly and under immense field pressure, which prevented them from distinguishing and verifying the identities of their targets.”

He reported that the ceasefire agreement began during his second military tour in Gaza.

He noted that he was stationed a few hundred meters from the yellow line and witnessed several people being killed by gunfire as they attempted to cross it.

The soldier emphasized that those who fire or order drone strikes do not always know the identities of those crossing the line.

He said that soldiers requesting airstrikes and sending coordinates for a specific building are based “only on intuition and guesswork” or on the last location where the target was seen.

Breaking the Silence confirmed that the general rules of engagement in Gaza “have become lax and allow for excessive use of force, especially against those crossing the line.”

Israeli attacks have killed 929 Palestinians and injured 2,811, since the ceasefire took effect in October, according to the Gaza Media Office.

Israel launched the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, killing 72,938 Palestinians and injuring more than 172,000, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian figures.