GAZA, (PIC)
“Isn’t it enough that they took our loved ones, our homes, our families, even our music and memories? Where does the injustice stop?!” With these words filled with pain and oppression, Hamada, a Palestinian musician, revealed in a post on Instagram that one of the guitars being played by an Israeli soldier on the rubble of homes belonged to him. He confirmed that it was the “last memory” from his deceased father in 2014, while the Israeli soldier named Matan Cohen quickly deleted the video from his account.
This scene is a drop in the ocean of what the Israeli soldiers do, that appear to have little to do with furthering their stated aim of destroying Hamas. stealing the homes of Gazans after wreaking havoc in them. This has included destruction of businesses and properties, vandalism, and the installation of Israeli and Jewish symbols across Gaza’s neighborhoods.
This was acknowledged by the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, which openly exposed the so-called “loot unit” in the army’s technology and logistics branch, seizing the money that was found, among other things, in the homes of Gazans.
The ‘Loot Unit’ continues its looting activities
The Hebrew newspaper confirmed that the Israeli occupation army seized 5 million shekels, which were transferred to the financial department of the Ministry of Defense.
After 70 days of bombing and attacks on Gaza, which resulted in the martyrdom of about 19,000 Palestinians and the injury of over 50,000 others, in addition to the extensive destruction inflicted on the besieged Palestinian territory, the occupation does not stop at this point. It further demonstrates its audacity and criminality through the ‘systematic theft’ from the people of Gaza.
Not only that, but the Israeli soldiers continue to destroy and vandalize anything that could provide a chance for life to the people of Gaza. In another video clip documenting the extent of their crimes, an Israeli soldier is seen destroying a Palestinian library in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, while other soldiers laugh in the background.
Moreover, everything has become permissible for the Israeli soldiers in Gaza. They proudly display their theft of jewelry, bicycles, cars, and anything else they can exploit. They celebrate their actions and document their crimes on social media platforms.
Such behavior has been blamed on indiscipline, but analysts believe it is also a form of “psychological warfare.”
In one example of theft, a soldier bragged about stealing a silver necklace from Gaza to take back to his girlfriend. Another soldier stole a rug from a Palestinian home.
In a post shared on a popular Facebook group, an Israeli officer gloated about seizing a host of sealed makeup items to take with him as “gifts from Gaza”.
The top comment under the Facebook post read: “It’s better if you delete the post, gives us a bad name, not because I care about that Gazan woman, I wouldn’t care if she never sees the light of day again, I care about the soldier who could be put on trial, and about the IDF’s reputation.”
Another image taken in Khan Younis in a Palestinian home shows several Israeli troops holding up a poster that states: “Only settlements in Gaza is victory.”
Another post shows a clip of soldier setting fire to scarce food and water supplies.
Earlier, the newspaper Maariv wondered whether Israeli army soldiers stole money from Palestinian citizens during military operations.
The newspaper confirmed in its investigation that residents of the Al-Fukhari area in Gaza accused fighters from of the Golani 51st Battalion of taking advantage of the curfew imposed on the population to steal sums of money from their unattended homes.
A fascist army with no morals, premeditated acts
Ironically, despite the continued Israeli officials’ disavowal of these shameful acts, stating that they represent individual actions and do not reflect the ethics of the army, the Hebrew press exposed the lowliness and degradation of the soldiers when it revealed that they also stole from the settlers, not just from Palestinian homes.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz previously revealed that elements of the Israeli army carried out looting and theft operations in settlers’ homes in the Gaza Envelope after they were evacuated following the ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ on the 7th of October.
The newspaper quoted evacuated settlers as saying that their homes were vandalized, and valuable items were looted by some soldiers of the Israeli army.
The head of the regional council in Ashdod at the time stated that he had received several complaints regarding this matter, and that the Israeli army opened an investigation into it.
Perhaps the most bitter revelation today comes from reports and medical testimonies in the devastated Gaza Strip, that the Israeli army is engaging in a larger crime, “which involves stealing the organs of the martyrs, in an extremely heinous and criminal act on top of the ongoing genocide.”
