The spotlight is finally on Israel's collateral killing of civilians
The recent “bombshell” article from The New York Times regarding IDF killings of civilians offers only a superficial look at the continuing tragedy. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The New York Times recently published an article revealing that an unprecedented level of “collateral damage” was sanctioned by the Israeli military. However, the piece fails to include crucial statistics already made public, effectively sanitizing the implications of its findings.
The December 26 piece, presented as a bombshell, states that Israel issued an order allowing the killing of up to 20 civilians for every low-level Hamas target. “The order, which has not previously been reported, had no precedent in Israeli military history,” the article declares.
However, a report from +972 Magazine, released in early April 2024, had already disclosed this information, citing military sources and revealing even more alarming statistics regarding what was deemed “acceptable” collateral damage.
Specifically, the +972 piece noted that an Israeli airstrike, which targeted Hamas' Shujaiya Battalion Commander Wisam Farhat, was authorized to result in the deaths of 100 civilians. Even more troubling was the case of Ayman Nofal, the commander of Hamas’ Central Gaza Brigade, where sources indicated that “the army authorized the killing of approximately 300 civilians.”
The New York Times briefly mentioned the +972 report, acknowledging that Israel’s military had denied the claims. However, the investigative work by +972 about this topic did not begin in April; a piece from November 2023 cited a source stating:
“The numbers increased from dozens of civilian deaths [permitted] as collateral damage as part of an attack on a senior official in previous operations, to hundreds of civilian deaths as collateral damage.”
Thus, while the New York Times emphasizes the unprecedented nature of the collateral damage figures, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been consciously dismissing civilian casualties as collateral damage for an extended period. This is evident in numerous UN reports on Israel's military activities.
The normalization of catastrophic collateral damage extends beyond Gaza; it has also occurred in Lebanon. During the assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Israel openly stated that it anticipated around 300 civilian fatalities due to the destruction of multiple civilian buildings in southern Beirut.
Despite the claims of new revelations, the New York Times piece reaffirms existing reports but does so in a manner that downplays the severity of these killings by omitting vital details and perpetuating familiar narratives. For instance, it reiterates the widely held belief that Hamas intentionally places itself among civilians to use them as human shields, a concept that has been challenged in various analyses.
What remains indisputable is that Israel has been documented using Palestinians as human shields, a tactic that has been a widely recognized aspect of its military doctrine.
“From November 2023 onward, amid a global outcry, Israel began to conserve ammunition and tighten some of its rules of engagement, including by halving the number of civilians who could be endangered when striking low-ranked militants who posed no imminent threat,” the New York Times notes. However, the sources for this information are solely Israeli soldiers and officials.
The only evidence cited comes from Israeli accounts, with no independent analysis or corroborative examples to establish that the IDF would, on average, kill ten civilians for every low-ranking Hamas fighter. Such verification appears absent, as even Israel struggles to substantiate these claims and identify the thousands of presumed “Hamas fighters” targeted.
According to Israeli figures on the alleged number of Hamas militants killed, these numbers escalate at a rate inconsistent with the death toll acknowledged by the United Nations. The official toll in Gaza is close to 46,000, with 10,000 missing and presumed dead. The Israeli claims about the number of “Hamas fighters” would only align with the figures if the death toll were significantly higher. Accepting a higher death toll to validate Israel's assertions about Hamas fighters poses a dilemma for The New York Times, as it would require addressing the escalation of violence that began in November 2023.
Additionally, the April 3 +972 article provided a comprehensive look at the artificial intelligence systems employed by the Israeli army, which were found to generate highly inaccurate target data. The investigation revealed that when the Lavender system identified junior Hamas targets, the military often resorted to using unguided munitions, as “you don’t want to waste expensive bombs on unimportant people.”
Moreover, +972 pointed out that even though a human operator must verify AI-generated targets before a strike is authorized, this process often boiled down to a quick check to ensure the target was male, taking an average of just 20 seconds before it was executed.
Notably, the New York Times article fails to address the killing of civilians where there is no identified military target, nor does it mention the systemic torture, sexual abuse, or destruction of homes for the sheer satisfaction of soldiers. Instead, it portrays the Israeli military as having simply exceeded acceptable limits in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack on October 7.
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
The December 26 piece, presented as a bombshell, states that Israel issued an order allowing the killing of up to 20 civilians for every low-level Hamas target. “The order, which has not previously been reported, had no precedent in Israeli military history,” the article declares.
However, a report from +972 Magazine, released in early April 2024, had already disclosed this information, citing military sources and revealing even more alarming statistics regarding what was deemed “acceptable” collateral damage.
Specifically, the +972 piece noted that an Israeli airstrike, which targeted Hamas' Shujaiya Battalion Commander Wisam Farhat, was authorized to result in the deaths of 100 civilians. Even more troubling was the case of Ayman Nofal, the commander of Hamas’ Central Gaza Brigade, where sources indicated that “the army authorized the killing of approximately 300 civilians.”
The New York Times briefly mentioned the +972 report, acknowledging that Israel’s military had denied the claims. However, the investigative work by +972 about this topic did not begin in April; a piece from November 2023 cited a source stating:
“The numbers increased from dozens of civilian deaths [permitted] as collateral damage as part of an attack on a senior official in previous operations, to hundreds of civilian deaths as collateral damage.”
Thus, while the New York Times emphasizes the unprecedented nature of the collateral damage figures, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been consciously dismissing civilian casualties as collateral damage for an extended period. This is evident in numerous UN reports on Israel's military activities.
The normalization of catastrophic collateral damage extends beyond Gaza; it has also occurred in Lebanon. During the assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Israel openly stated that it anticipated around 300 civilian fatalities due to the destruction of multiple civilian buildings in southern Beirut.
Despite the claims of new revelations, the New York Times piece reaffirms existing reports but does so in a manner that downplays the severity of these killings by omitting vital details and perpetuating familiar narratives. For instance, it reiterates the widely held belief that Hamas intentionally places itself among civilians to use them as human shields, a concept that has been challenged in various analyses.
What remains indisputable is that Israel has been documented using Palestinians as human shields, a tactic that has been a widely recognized aspect of its military doctrine.
“From November 2023 onward, amid a global outcry, Israel began to conserve ammunition and tighten some of its rules of engagement, including by halving the number of civilians who could be endangered when striking low-ranked militants who posed no imminent threat,” the New York Times notes. However, the sources for this information are solely Israeli soldiers and officials.
The only evidence cited comes from Israeli accounts, with no independent analysis or corroborative examples to establish that the IDF would, on average, kill ten civilians for every low-ranking Hamas fighter. Such verification appears absent, as even Israel struggles to substantiate these claims and identify the thousands of presumed “Hamas fighters” targeted.
According to Israeli figures on the alleged number of Hamas militants killed, these numbers escalate at a rate inconsistent with the death toll acknowledged by the United Nations. The official toll in Gaza is close to 46,000, with 10,000 missing and presumed dead. The Israeli claims about the number of “Hamas fighters” would only align with the figures if the death toll were significantly higher. Accepting a higher death toll to validate Israel's assertions about Hamas fighters poses a dilemma for The New York Times, as it would require addressing the escalation of violence that began in November 2023.
Additionally, the April 3 +972 article provided a comprehensive look at the artificial intelligence systems employed by the Israeli army, which were found to generate highly inaccurate target data. The investigation revealed that when the Lavender system identified junior Hamas targets, the military often resorted to using unguided munitions, as “you don’t want to waste expensive bombs on unimportant people.”
Moreover, +972 pointed out that even though a human operator must verify AI-generated targets before a strike is authorized, this process often boiled down to a quick check to ensure the target was male, taking an average of just 20 seconds before it was executed.
Notably, the New York Times article fails to address the killing of civilians where there is no identified military target, nor does it mention the systemic torture, sexual abuse, or destruction of homes for the sheer satisfaction of soldiers. Instead, it portrays the Israeli military as having simply exceeded acceptable limits in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack on October 7.
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
