During the last 6 months of Israel's aggression on Gaza, there were almost daily war crimes and horror stories committed by the IOF. That is too hard to keep track of or choose which one to address. Last March, Palestinians and their supporters were horrified and crushed after watching a video footage aired by Al Jazeera last month in which four unarmed Palestinians were seen walking along a dirt road in Khan Younis. The men were tracked and then killed in a serious drone attack, just like in a video game. 

This is reminiscent of what happened 10 years ago when four boys from the Bakr family were blown out to pieces by the IOF while playing soccer with their father on Gaza's beach. The four killed cousins were – 11-year-old Mohammad Ramiz Bakr, 9-year-old Ismail Mahmoud Bakr, and Ahed Atef Bakr and Zakariya Ahed Bakr, both aged 10 – Israeli forces shelled the area and the fishing boats belonging to the family during the 2024 war on Gaza, according to (MEM)

Palestine Chronicle who covered the story of last month's drone attacks by stating that, "At first, the Israeli military claimed 'a terrorist who had fired' a rocket was identified and 'an air force aircraft attacked and eliminated him,'” according to the Israeli newspaper. But the Israeli claim was flatly rejected by a senior Israeli military officer informed the Israeli daily Haaretz that "This was a very grave incident," stating further that, "the men were unarmed and they did not endanger our forces in the area in which they were walking." That is a very typical Israeli response whenever the IOF murder an unarmed Palestinian. 

Lebanese Journalist Ghadi Francis, who is one of few journalists around the world to visit and report about Gaza tunnels in 2013, tweeted on March 22 two images depicting images of the 10-year-apart attacks in one post and calling it "Same occupation. Same evil." Miss Francis is a Lebanese Christian and a rising media star. She reminds me of the late Lebanese-American journalist Helen Thomas.

The IOF who brags about being the most moral army in the world never comply with the laws of war in Gaza, occupied Palestinian, Lebanon, or Syria where it routinely violates the air space to two sovereign nation and bomb civilian towns and villages. According to the IOF logic, every Palestinian is Hamas, a Hamas sympathizer, or s/he voted for Hamas and therefore they should be for it.

Most of the time, the victim was either at the wrong place or at the wrong time. He or she was in a military zone. If that does not work, s/he is collateral damage, or the killing is being investigated. End of the story. There is no rationalization for killing unarmed persons, no matter the suspicions. It is still a war crime.

So, let's closely examine the last month's targeted assassination of the four unarmed Palestinians in Khan Younis. The four unarmed men were killed in a targeted assassination. Which means the IOF acted as the judge, the persecutor, and the jury. That stands the reason why target assassination is a war crime. The aired video clearly depicts the behavior of the IOF when dealing with Palestinians during conflict.  "Oh, look, there are some sub-humans. Let’s murder them." How else would you explain this heinous crime?

As in the case of the seven aid workers killed in Gaza yesterday Monday April 1, 2024, PM Netanyahu whitewashed the crime by stating “Unfortunately, a tragic instance of our forces unintentionally harming innocent people in the Gaza Strip. It happens in war. We'll investigate it and we will do everything so that it doesn't happen again.”

Anytime Israel calls for instating the murder of innocent people, usually the cold-blooded murder is to be shoved under the carpet along with thousands of other senseless killings. The IOF can probe all it wants, but it will NEVER punish the perpetuators. Another proof that IOF is the "most moral army" is an oxymoron. 

Finally, these drone operators remind one of bloodthirsty death camp guards taking target practice on defenseless Jews in the Holocaust!

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired USA veteran who lives in Westerville, Ohio. He could be reached at: elyousseph6@yahoo.com