Israel warns military against social media after Brazil searches for soldiers in Gaza

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Israel has warned its military not to post on social media about their operations in Gaza after a Brazilian court asked police to investigate an Israeli soldier who visited the country and was accused of war crimes.

The operation was launched by the pro-Palestinian group Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and was based in part on film footage and photos that HRF claimed showed the soldier involved in demolishing houses in Gaza.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that officials from the embassy in Brazil immediately helped the man leave the country without being detained.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs draws the attention of Israelis to social media posts about their military service and the fact that anti-Israel elements may use these posts to launch futile legal proceedings against them,” the ministry added.

The Brussels-based human rights foundation hailed Brazil’s federal court’s decision to recognize jurisdiction over the matter and order emergency police action as “groundbreaking”.

“This is a historic moment,” said HRF Chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah. “It sets a strong precedent for countries to take bold action to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable.”

The incident is the latest example of the legal consequences of Israel’s Gaza offensive, which has killed more than 45,800 people so far, according to Palestinian officials, reduced much of the territory to uninhabitable ruins and exacerbated Humanitarian disaster.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the government of Benjamin Netanyahu of committing a “huge political failure” over the incident and argued for the establishment of a national commission of inquiry (Netanyahu responded to this question Expressing a boycott) will help avoid such legal action.

“How did we get to the point where the Palestinians are better off on the international stage than the Israeli government?” he wrote on X.

Israeli officials said that in an Israeli offensive in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.

The United Nations’ top court is hearing a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galante for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Israel strongly denies the genocide accusations and calls South Africa’s case “grossly distorted.” Israel says its troops in Gaza are acting in compliance with international law, and Netanyahu’s office dismissed the arrest warrant on the grounds of “anti-Semitism.”

Abuja said HRF had submitted evidence against about 1,000 Israeli soldiers to the ICC to help support its charges against Israeli leaders.

He said the group has also compiled a list of soldiers suspected of being involved in war crimes and has been monitoring their actions through social media posts.

“We knew he was in Brazil as soon as he entered the country, and three days later we submitted a 400-page dossier against him,” Abou Jahjah said. “Our target is not all Israeli soldiers, but those suspected of committing war crimes.”

He added that they had been collecting evidence of alleged violations of international law, “starting from entering homes to loot and destroy property, to the demolition of entire communities, including hospitals, civil infrastructure and houses of worship”.

“There were killings, kidnappings, torture, taking photos with prisoners,” he said.

The HRF has also brought war crimes charges against dozens of Israeli soldiers who hold dual citizenship in countries including Belgium, France and the Netherlands, with the aim of triggering prosecutions in those countries.

Abou Jahjah said some of the cases are still in the early stages of investigation, while others have been dismissed by national judicial bodies and are being appealed to the HRF. “We are optimistic about the cases in Belgium,” he said.