Soldiers have uploaded videos to social media from combat zones, ignored safety rules, and dressed improperly without suffering necessary consequences.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
An IDF investigation has found that discipline is on the wane as the Israel-Hamas war drags on, due mostly to the operational attrition of various units, the army announced Wednesday after presenting its conclusions to the chief of staff.
The in-depth inquiry, led by Maj. Gen. (res.) Moti Baruch, had the mandate to “formulat[e] a detailed situational picture regarding the maintenance of operational discipline, the rules of conduct and norms… and the implementation of a proper military culture in combat units” fighting in the south in Gaza and in the north in Lebanon/Syria.
The internal situation in the units fighting on the Judea and Samaria front was not examined.
Operational and information security, perhaps the most important issue, has declined over time, and such phenomena as the soldiers’ use of cellphones in the field was not being as strictly denied as it had been.
“There were even cases where cellular devices were openly used in the combat zones,” the report stated, while noting that the problem was much more manifest in the southern than the northern fronts.
Soldiers have even uploaded videos onto social media “indicating the exact location of the units that operated there,” it said.
Hamas intelligence could theoretically use this information to attack those IDF forces. Israeli intelligence has found vast documentation of the terror organization having gained invaluable data on the IDF from social media prior to its invasion and massacre last October 7 that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
The report also blamed the long months of war for the occurrence of military accidents.
“Due to the operational fatigue of the various units that have been in combat for over a year and three months, there was a loosening of discipline and safety in the various units, which manifested itself in the improper use of resources and led to operational accidents that could have been prevented,” it said.
The breakdown in following safety rules included certain usages of weapons and explosives, and risky driving methods.
The inquiry was prompted by a November incident in which a civilian researcher and tour guide, Ze’ev Ehrlich, was killed along with a soldier in Lebanon after officers allowed his unauthorized entry to examine an important archaeological site. Hezbollah snipers shot them.
When delving into the issue of the entry of civilians into battle zones, the investigators found only “isolated” incidents of those who came in without permission and said that “these cases are being examined and handled.”
Other safety issues they examined included equipment donations that units received from concerned Jews both at home and abroad, as well as the greater laxity of dress codes, where “during the fighting, a phenomenon of widespread non-compliance developed in all areas.”
The report concluded with a string of recommendations to improve both discipline and safety, which were adopted on the spot by the chief of staff.
These included immediately holding day-long seminars on the subjects and having periodic refresher courses during the war, while enforcing punishments for those violating the safety and discipline orders, as this will “prevent accidents and safety incidents, save lives, and meet mission requirements.”
Another recommendation was to transfer forces from sector to sector to prevent attrition. While most divisions have been rotated between the northern and southern fronts, this has not been the case for Division 162, for example, which has been fighting in the Gaza Strip for the entire duration of the war.
The 11-officer team interviewed officers in combat units as well as generals, and talked to regular soldiers in the field, besides examining internal IDF reports on the issues.