Breaking the Silence: Ex-IDF Soldiers' Testimonies on Conduct in Gaza and the West Bank
Breaking the Silence, an Israeli organization that collects testimony from IDF veterans, has collected testimonies from more than 1,400 soldiers since 2000, covering the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and has published new testimonies from soldiers who served in Gaza after October 7, 2023. The accounts describe deliberate destruction, killing of non-combatants, and conduct soldiers themselves characterized as war crimes.
Breaking the Silence is an Israeli non-governmental organization founded in 2004 by IDF veterans who served in the occupied territories. Its mission is to collect and publish testimonies from Israeli soldiers about their experiences and the conduct of Israeli forces — with the explicit goal of forcing Israeli society to confront what is done in its name.
Breaking the Silence says it has collected testimonies from more than 1,400 soldiers since 2000 across the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem (Breaking the Silence). Since October 7, 2023 it has published additional testimonies from soldiers who served in Gaza. The testimonies — given anonymously to protect soldiers from retaliation — describe:
- Orders to destroy civilian infrastructure (homes, mosques, universities, hospitals) that soldiers said had no military justification
- Killing of individuals who posed no apparent threat
- Deliberate targeting of civilians described as punitive rather than operational
- A permissive atmosphere in which commanders tolerated or encouraged conduct that violated rules of engagement
- "Shoot first" policies in contexts where soldiers said identification of threat was not required before firing
The Israeli government and military have consistently challenged the credibility of Breaking the Silence, accusing it of being motivated by anti-Israel political bias and of publicizing unverified accounts. The IDF said some testimonies describe events that never occurred and that the organization fails to provide sufficient detail for the military to investigate specific claims.
Breaking the Silence's significance comes from its source: these are Israeli soldiers, many of whom describe themselves as patriotic, speaking about what they personally witnessed and participated in. Unlike external human rights organizations, they are insiders. Supporters argue these accounts are consistent with testimony from foreign medical volunteers and with findings by UN investigators; the IDF disputes the organization's methodology.
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