Israel’s Army Suspends Soldiers for Attacking Activists in Hebron

Israeli soldiers in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus on November 25, 2022. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus on November 25, 2022. (EPA)
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Israel’s Army Suspends Soldiers for Attacking Activists in Hebron

Israeli soldiers in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus on November 25, 2022. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus on November 25, 2022. (EPA)

The Israeli army on Friday suspended two soldiers who physically assaulted and taunted left-wing activists in Hebron.

It said in a statement that the incidents would be investigated by the commander of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs.

“The soldiers involved were suspended from operational activity until the end of the investigation,” the army added.

In footage shared by Breaking the Silence, a non-governmental organization that collects and publicizes mostly anonymous testimony by former Israeli soldiers about alleged human rights violations against Palestinians, soldiers can be seen confronting Palestinian and Israeli left-wing activists and assaulting them.

They also boasted about far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir, who is set to become Israel’s next national security minister - an expanded public security minister role.

“Ben Gvir is going to sort things out in this place,” one soldier said. “That’s it, you guys have lost … the fun is over,” he added.

Asked by the filming activist, “Why? Am I doing something illegal?” the soldier replies, “Everything you do is illegal. I am the law,” and orders the activist to step back.

In another footage, a soldier was seen knocking an activist to the ground and punching him.

The soldier was wearing a patch attached to the back of his military vest that read, “One shot. One kill. No remorse. I decide.”

The group of activists had traveled to Hebron to meet with local Palestinian families as an act of solidarity after Israelis visiting the city in an annual pilgrimage initiated clashes with them last week.

“We can already see the effects of Ben Gvir’s appointment on the ground,” read a subsequent statement issued by Breaking the Silence.

Military chief Aviv Kohavi condemned the soldiers’ actions, saying they were “extremely serious and contrary to the values of the Israeli army.”

“The regulations and procedures allow soldiers freedom of action to carry out their mission, but they are not allowed to use force unnecessarily and they are not allowed to act violently,” Kohavi said in a statement.

The army affirmed that patches other than those showing the logo of a military unit or an Israeli flag are against military regulations.



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.