Israeli soldiers' posts on social media constitute proof of war crimes: Palestinian journalist

By Sule Ozkan

The posts shared by Israeli soldiers on social media constitute proof that they are committing war crimes, according to a Palestinian journalist.

Younis Tirawi told Anadolu that the posts constitute important evidence of war crimes and that documenting these crimes has a great meaning.

Stating that he was threatened by Israeli intelligence, the Palestinian journalist said that Channel 13, one of Israel's largest television channels, made a news report about him in which he was branded as a “terrorist supporter.”

“Finally, a brigade commander told me, 'We will follow and find you and everyone who supports terrorism,'” he stressed.

Emphasizing the importance of documenting the images of crimes shared by Israeli soldiers on their social media accounts, Tirawi said that no one can deny what has been happening in Gaza as it has all happened in front of the world’s eyes.

“One day, when the people of Gaza begin to mourn, they will want to know who the criminals are who killed their loved ones,” he said, underlining: “These documents will be a tool for justice when that day comes.”

- ‘It all started with TikTok posts by Israeli soldiers’

Tirawi further highlighted that there are three different “lenses” to look at the war crimes committed in Gaza: "The first lens comes from the footage shared by Palestinian journalists.”

“These show the destruction, massacres, and burning of homes in Gaza, portraying the humanitarian tragedy in the most accurate way,” he said, adding: “The second lens is the statements made by Israeli spokespersons Daniel Hagari and Avichay Adraee, which are translated and published by Western media.”

The journalist concluded: “The third lens consists of the footage shared by Israeli soldiers on social media. These videos expose the events in Gaza in their stark reality."

He recalled how Israeli soldiers first began sharing evidence of their war crimes and human rights violations on TikTok, explaining that the soldiers published videos of the destruction they carried out in the region as material for entertainment, driven by a sense of "pride."

"I watched a video showing Israeli soldiers inside a UN school in the Gaza Strip,” he pointed out. “The school was completely destroyed, and they were hysterically laughing while playing with a computer keyboard inside.”

“These laughs echoed in a school where children once studied. That image deeply shocked me," he lamented.

Tirawi noted that after the platform restricted access to such videos in November 2023, Israeli soldiers switched to other platforms to share their footage.

"Israeli soldiers were posting videos showing them bombing buildings belonging to Palestinian civilians,” he recalled.

Expressing that he could not understand how they recorded such scenes while laughing, he criticized: “Since childhood, I’ve understood wars to be filled with violence, destruction, and despair. Yet, they were laughing and having fun."

Tirawi emphasized that Israeli soldiers frequently attempted to create a vacation-like atmosphere in their posts: "The soldiers would say things like, 'Instead of Thailand, I’m now in Gaza,' or 'Instead of New York, I’m in Rafah,' turning these events into some sort of entertainment."

- ‘They set fires to Palestinian homes, dressed in women's underwear, and mocked’

The Palestinian journalist also noted that Israeli soldiers did not limit themselves to sharing visuals of destruction but also wore underwear belonging to Palestinian women and posted these on social media.

Pointing to the devastation caused by the Israeli army at Al-Azhar University, the second-largest university in Gaza, Tirawi said: "I can never forget the posts by Israeli soldiers.”

“One of the soldiers showed the university and said: 'You are pathetic. We bombed this university. You will never become engineers',” he recalled, adding: “Additionally, they entered Palestinian homes, set them on fire, mocked by wearing women’s underwear, smoked hookahs, and cigarettes.”

“The reason they did this is because, in their subconscious, they viewed this place as their own home," he stressed.

Tirawi also mentioned the bombing of the Gaza Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the only cancer treatment center in Gaza, by the Israeli army.

He said the hospital was used as a military operation center at the beginning of the offensive, with phrases like "Death to Arabs" and racist slurs written on its walls, including near the entrance adorned with a Turkish flag.

- 'Our job is to flatten Gaza'

Discussing the massive destruction caused by Israel’s 749th Combat Engineering Battalion in the Netzarim region, which separates southern Gaza from the north, Tirawi said: "A 5-kilometer (nearly 3.4 miles) area in this region was wiped off the map.”

“Satellite images show that everything has been obliterated,” he stated, adding: “The battalion's official page posted: 'Our job is to flatten Gaza. No one will stop or hinder us.'”

The journalist mentioned: “This was not shared from an individual soldier’s account but from the official page of the unit.”

“They are openly stating that they fear neither Palestinians nor anyone else," he added.

- ‘These images reinforce Israel’s war spirit’

Additionally, Tirawi emphasized that soldiers shared these images to send a message to Israeli society as “these images bolster the war spirit” in Israeli society.

“For us, burning homes is a crime, but in Israeli society, this is considered normal,” he criticized.

“After Oct. 7, Ghasan Alyan, the coordinator of Israeli government operations in Palestinian territories, said: 'We are not dealing with humans, we are dealing with animals’,” Tirawi stated, noting: “For me, this was the spark that explained everything the soldiers did."

He also noted that some of the Israeli soldiers committing crimes in Gaza grew up outside Israel and held dual citizenship, mentioning that among those in sniper units were individuals from countries such as the US, Germany, South Africa, Italy, France, and Belgium.

He stressed that these individuals were directly involved in crimes against civilians in Gaza.

"An Israeli soldier looting a house in Khan Younis said: 'I’m currently breaking your kitchenware. If you’re going to report me to The Hague, go ahead'," he recalled.

Tirawi explained that Israeli soldiers used social media to target civilians in Gaza and attempted to justify their crimes, stating: "For them, there are no civilians in Gaza; everyone is Hamas.”

“Even for a small child, they say 'he’s Hamas'," he underscored.

- 'We are not facing an army but a criminal organization'

He concluded by saying that Israeli soldiers who committed war crimes in Gaza were not punished but instead praised and promoted: "We need to name these perpetrators to ensure accountability.”

“We are not facing an army but a criminal organization, and the culprits are clearly identifiable,” he stressed.

“The soldiers and officers in Gaza are committing direct murders. Therefore, we must focus our attention on them."

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 44,250 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, according to official figures.

The onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the enclave, and a blockade has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, pushing the population to the brink of starvation.

International organizations and aid groups have warned that the entire population of Gaza – over 2 million people – is at risk of famine due to Israel’s relentless attacks and strict blockade.

*Writing by Merve Berker