IDF fire rules near hospitals in Gaza: what an IDF commander says

What the interview is

Private Screener. Thank you for taking the time to watch this film. We’d value your honest impressions after viewing. This link is intended for you only. Please don’t forward, download, record, or publish any part of the film without prior permission. One interview covers Gaza from north to south. No personal names appear on this page, and the directors are unnamed for security reasons. The film is still being edited, so the released version may differ from raw tape.

This page summarizes what the interviewee says. It reports his account and the IDF rules he describes. It does not verify them independently.

The IDF fire policy as described

The interviewee says that fire is restricted in areas with dense civilian populations. He says sensitive sites such as schools, kindergartens and mosques are marked in the systems the force uses, and that safety radii of 200 to 300 meters apply around them. According to him, a shot inside such a radius is not a decision for a small unit. Requests move up the chain, through brigade, division and command, and sometimes to the Chief of Staff. He says approval sometimes arrives after the target has moved.

He also says that Hamas fighters moved among civilians, sometimes with visible weapons and sometimes without, and that they were struck when they were assessed as a live threat or when the movement was clearly military.

Hospitals, schools and mosques

Asked what forces found in buildings with a humanitarian function, the interviewee says that the buildings he checked contained weapons or military use. He names Shifa Hospital as an example and describes a headquarters, weapons and planning rooms. He also describes rifles, RPGs, mortars, explosives and tunnel shafts in such buildings.

Hamas has rejected claims of this kind. Human rights organizations and UN bodies say that hospitals are protected under international law, and they have raised concerns about strikes on and near medical facilities. Israeli officials say that protected status can be lost when a site is used for military purposes. These positions differ, and this page does not settle them.

Aid convoys

Asked about aid vehicles, the interviewee says that during humanitarian hours armed men approached convoys, that crowds gathered around trucks, and that weapons were passed from the beds of pickups. He says fuel was scarce for civilians and available to Hamas, and that most warehouses were under Hamas control. Aid organizations describe conditions around distribution in Gaza differently.

Civilians leaving areas

The interviewee says that Hamas prevented civilians from leaving. As an example he describes people turned around at a square by a small group of men, and he says intelligence supported this picture. He says that when civilians stay, the safety radius stays and strikes wait.

Schools used as shelters

He says that during sweeps of school compounds used as shelters, men were checked. In one action, he says, a third of the men checked were Hamas operatives, some of them from 7 October. In other fast raids, he says, dozens of fighters were identified among the crowd, including commanders. These figures are his account.

Other views

The film presents one commander's account. Other sources, including UN bodies, human rights organizations, the IDF and Hamas, describe the same events differently. Readers can compare those accounts.

The film

Private Screener. Thank you for taking the time to watch this film. We’d value your honest impressions after viewing. This link is intended for you only. Please don’t forward, download, record, or publish any part of the film without prior permission.

Publishing date 20 September 2026. Theaters and the official player at /film.

The interviewee stays unnamed.