Looting and destruction are Israeli army’s ‘primary mission’ in Lebanon, soldiers say

“Looting and destruction are Israeli army’s ‘primary mission’ in Lebanon, soldiers say Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 09:22 Reservists describe widespread theft and demolition in southern Lebanon, with commanders accused of turning a blind eye An Israeli soldier patrols along the Israel-Lebanon boundary on 10 April 2026 (Jalaa Marey/AFP) Off Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon have engaged in widespread looting and destruction, according to testimonies published by Haaretz on Wednesday. “The method was always the same,” one Israeli reservist told the newspaper, describing how goods taken from Lebanese villages were transferred into Israel. “But there was also another mission - an unofficial one: taking out all the loot,” the reservist said. The “spoils” would be unloaded at the outpost, he added, so they’d be waiting for the soldiers when they went home. The reservist said his unit operated in a wealthy village, where soldiers would first fire at homes to ensure there were no Hezbollah fighters inside. “Once we understood the area was safe, the real mission would begin - locating valuable things,” he said, adding that soldiers often argued over what to take. According to the testimony, troops looted rugs, armchairs, motorbikes and heaters from private homes, while shops were stripped of expensive goods. "Even the hand soap at the outpost came from Lebanon," he told Haaretz. "At any given moment, you could see soldiers walking around the village carrying with them civilians’ belongings. It felt like the primary mission." Discipline problems 'at highest ranks’ The testimony comes amid mounting reports of large-scale looting by Israeli soldiers since fighting escalated between Israel and Hezbollah in March, following the joint Israeli-US war on Iran. Last month, Haaretz reported that Israeli troops had looted sofas, televisions and motorbikes from homes in southern Lebanon, while army commanders largely turned a blind eye. Israeli troops selling loot stolen from Gaza and Lebanon, investigation reveals Read More » Earlier this month, Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that military leaders were struggling to deal with the scale of the looting. Israeli army chief of staff Eyal Zamir said last month that “the phenomenon of looting, if it exists, is disgraceful and could stain the entire (military)". “If such incidents occurred, we will investigate them,” he told senior commanders during a military conference. “I am not willing for us to become an army of looters.” Broadcaster Channel 14 later reported that Zamir had asked commanders operating in Lebanon to sign a letter committing to preventing looting. One commander reportedly refused. “I will not sign the letter,” he told the channel, adding that “the discipline problems in the IDF (Israeli army) begin at the highest ranks.” Looting on all fronts The reservist who spoke to Haaretz said most senior commanders did not care about the looting. “The attitude was that there was no problem with looting as long as you didn’t get hurt. The higher command didn’t really try to stop us either,” he said. After reports of looting emerged last month, the reservist said his commander ordered soldiers to stop stealing - before entering shops himself and smashing items “so the soldiers would have nothing left to loot”. According to the reservist, no soldier was punished for looting. Israeli troops steal 250 goats from Syria and smuggle them to occupied West Bank Read More » He added that some troops gave the stealing a “religious justification”, while others argued that since homes and shops were already being destroyed, there was no reason to leave valuables behind. It felt like the army “had become a Viking army”, he said, by letting soldiers loot “so they stay satisfied and keep fighting”. Adam Raz, an Israeli historian who wrote about the looting of Palestinian property during the 1948 Nakba, said last month that “looting was part of every Israeli war”. “What’s new is the total indifference,” he said. “The senior command turns a blind eye, the criminality continues, and the crime achieves its goals.” Last month, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said reports from Lebanon pointed to “a clear pattern of theft during Israeli military operations”. The rights group said Israeli forces had been “raiding houses, rummaging through belongings, and looting residents’ money and personal effects”, adding that the practice appeared to have become “an effective policy of the state and the army”. Euro-Med said it had also documented looting in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. In January, Israeli forces were reported to have seized around 250 goats from Syrian territory and transferred them to Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank. The other mission: destruction Despite the US-announced ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah last month, fighting has continued. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), around 100,000 Lebanese have fled their homes in recent days for fear of Israeli strikes. Israeli forces have killed at least 3,020 people since the latest assault began in March, including 824 since the 17 April so-called ceasefire, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Hezbollah has killed at least 21 soldiers since March, including eight since 17 April, mostly invading troops stationed inside Lebanon. However, testimonies obtained by Haaretz suggest fighting Hezbollah was not always the army’s primary objective. Another reservist told the newspaper that the military’s main mission in southern Lebanon was the destruction of homes. 'There was no reason other than revenge' - Israeli reservist He described a speech delivered by a commander before the ground invasion as “a pagan ritual”, adding that he had heard similar rhetoric during previous assaults in Gaza and Lebanon. “When we entered the village, there were no militants. The houses were empty,” he said. “There was no fighting there at all - only operations to flatten homes.” He said this has been the army mission for the past two years, “the Israel Defence Forces for house demolitions”. He said soldiers also entered homes searching for valuables to steal. “There was no reason other than revenge,” he said. According to the reservist, homes, schools and clinics were destroyed without any stated military justification. Much of the demolition work, he said, was carried out by private contractors, including “extreme settlers” as well as Bedouin and Druze workers. For religious soldiers in the unit, he added, destroying homes was seen as “the ultimate mission”. “Whenever someone talked about returning to Israel,” the battalion commander would reply: “This is Israel too.” Israel's war on Lebanon Tel Aviv, Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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