(MENAFN) Israeli troops have disclosed that Palestinian civilians were deliberately killed inside Gaza under the orders of army officers, reflecting a breakdown of legal and military standards during Tel Aviv’s two-year harsh campaign on the territory.

“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” stated Daniel, the commander of an Israeli tank unit, in a documentary scheduled to air in the UK on a broadcaster on Monday.

Since October 2023, the Israeli military has reportedly killed over 69,000 Palestinians—predominantly women and children—while injuring more than 170,000 in Gaza, leaving the territory largely unlivable.

Some Israeli soldiers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Palestinian civilians were exploited as human shields throughout the fighting, according to a media outlet.

Captain Yotam Vilk, an officer in the armored corps, acknowledged that soldiers often ignored the established army rule to fire only when a target possessed the “means, intent and ability” to inflict harm.

“There’s no such thing as ‘means, intent and ability’ in Gaza,” Vilk explained. “It’s just suspicion – someone walking where it’s not allowed.”

Another soldier, identified solely as Eli, emphasized: “Life and death isn’t determined by procedures or opening fire regulations. It’s the conscience of the commander on the ground that decides.”

Eli described an incident in which an officer commanded a tank to destroy a building where a man was merely “hanging laundry,” leading to multiple fatalities and injuries.

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