Four Israeli soldiers have been sentenced to 10 days in prison after refusing an order to travel through the Gaza Strip, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan has reported.
The soldiers, from the Nahal Brigade, said they were ordered to drive in broad daylight along what was described as a high-risk route, where buildings had “not been demolished by the army”.
One soldier told Kan: “Missions like this are done either in a tank, an armoured vehicle or at night. We’ve carried out countless missions like this in the dark, never in daylight. It’s a route littered with debris, and even at night we’ve sometimes had to stop.”
Another described the mission as suicidal: “We’re like sitting ducks there in daylight. It’s easy to get hit by a sniper or an RPG. This is a real threat to our lives. Things like that had already happened, and the army should have learned by now.”
