Tel aviv: Long after leaving Gaza, some Israeli soldiers say they remain trapped there. They speak of sleepless nights, shame, panic, and memories that refuse to fade: an elderly Palestinian and three boys shot dead in the street, a helpless detainee humiliated in a cage, homes looted and destroyed, a prisoner tortured during interrogation.
According to Anadolu Agency, in testimonies published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, soldiers who concealed their identities recounted acts they said they witnessed or took part in during Israel's war on the Gaza Strip. Together, their accounts paint a picture not only of what Palestinians endured but of how the war shattered some of those who carried it out.
Yuval, a 34-year-old computer programmer from near Tel Aviv, said he entered Gaza in December 2023 with a unit advancing through Khan Younis. Near Salah al-Din Road, Gaza's main thoroughfare, his unit identified what were described as 'suspects' through a drone camera and opened fire. When the soldiers reached the scene, he realized those killed were not fighters. Months later, after being discharged, friends organized a party in his honor, but Yuval felt like a monster.
Another soldier, Maya, said she served in a reserve armored battalion and witnessed an incident that never left her. Troops spotted five Palestinians walking toward northern Gaza after crossing what the army had declared a forbidden line. A tank fired hundreds of rounds, killing four of them. The fifth Palestinian survived and was placed inside a cage while soldiers waited for an interrogation officer. Later that day, a Shin Bet interrogator concluded the Palestinian was not affiliated with Hamas and had simply been trying to return home. He was released, but Maya said the image never left her.
Yehuda, another soldier, described an officer who shot an unarmed Palestinian without reason. The Palestinian approached an Israeli position one night and immediately raised his hands. The officer waited a few seconds, then shot him dead without asking a single question. Back at the operations room, officers watched drone footage of the killing, but no investigation was opened.
Other testimonies describe the war continuing long after soldiers returned home. A sniper from the Nahal Brigade said he can no longer sleep without seeing the faces of Palestinians he killed. He said he now suffers from nighttime urinary incontinence and spent a month in a hospital. Another soldier said troops routinely looted Palestinian homes, stealing electrical appliances, gold necklaces, and cash.
The most disturbing testimony came from a soldier identified as Eitan, who said he witnessed the torture of a Palestinian detainee captured in northern Gaza. An investigator from Unit 504 stripped the prisoner, tied plastic restraints around his genitals, and tightened them when he refused to answer questions. Eitan said the screams still echo in his mind.
The comments come amid daily Israeli violations of the ceasefire in effect since Oct. 10, 2025. The Health Ministry said those violations have killed 777 Palestinians and wounded 2,193 others so far. The ceasefire followed more than two years of a genocidal war that killed over 72,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 172,000, and devastated about 90% of the enclave's infrastructure.