____________________________________________ 4 IICC Perspectives Here is the place to add that among the considerations that the state cannot use to justify the war, either when it begins or as it continues, is the concept of revenge. The principles of preserving human dignity, the doctrine of just war and the values of the IDF, including the purity of arms, of themselves obviate all vindictive, deadly, cruel and shameful behavior towards non-combatants in Gaza, among them countless children. The value of human life One of the most important principles of the IDF code of ethics is the value of human life, which expresses part of a person's dignity as a human being, which is at the foundation of Israel's democratic regime. There are many aspects to the principle of preserving human life, including safeguarding the lives of citizens, residents and soldiers, and taking care not to harm Gazans who are not involved in terrorist activity against the state and its inhabitants. The dedication of the IDF soldiers to safeguarding the lives of all the inhabitants of the country has characterized their military activity throughout the war and deserves to be highly praised. There is one reservation: at one time there was a dangerous misunderstanding of the Hannibal Directive, which deals with preventing the abduction of a soldier despite some risk to his life. The order forbade actions which would result in the soldier's certain or highly probable death. The concept that soldiers may kill the soldier to keep him from falling into enemy hands is immoral and contrary to the values of the IDF. Although the Directive was canceled by Chief of Staff Eisenkot, the concept remained. Articles were published claiming that the order had been misinterpreted and shots had been fired resulting in the deaths of soldiers and civilians. I don't know if there were indeed cases where commanders or soldiers actually did implement the order, mistaken as it was, but the possibility it happened means one of the most important moral assessments of warfare has to be better taught and implemented. The principles of morality and of the theory of just war require avoiding, insofar as is possible, harming people living in the enemy country if they do not participate in the hostilities. Every aspect of intentionally harming non-combatants is wrong: it violates the duty to preserve human dignity, it violates the principle of distinguishing between hostile forces and non-combatants according to the just war theory, and it violates the IDF value of the purity of arms. I am unaware such violations have been committed during the Iron Swords War. Western media and international institutions have spread the claim that tens of thousands Gazans have been killed in the war. Even if one takes into account the enemy's familiar practice of falsifying data, there is still no doubt that many thousands of non-involved Gazans have (Source: ChatGPT)
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