Israeli soldiers looting homes in Lebanon on large scale, report says
Israeli soldiers have been looting civilian property on a large scale from homes and businesses in southern Lebanon with the knowledge of their commanders, Haaretz reported on Thursday.
Soldiers and officers described widespread, routine theft of belongings, including motorbikes, televisions, paintings, sofas and carpets.
Despite being aware of the practice, both senior and junior commanders have largely failed to take disciplinary action to curb it, according to testimonies.
As Israeli troops leave Lebanon, they openly load stolen goods onto their vehicles without attempting to conceal them.
“It’s on a crazy scale,” one soldier said. “Anyone who takes something – televisions, cigarettes, tools, whatever – immediately puts it in their vehicle or leaves it to the side. It’s not hidden. Everyone sees it and understands.”
Soldiers said commanders either turn a blind eye or voice opposition without enforcing consequences.
“In our unit, they don’t even comment or get angry. The battalion and brigade commanders know everything,” one person said.
Another described a case in which a commander shouted at soldiers carrying looted items in a jeep and ordered them to discard them, but no further action was taken.
“Commanders speak against it and say it’s serious, but they don’t do anything,” another soldier said.
The Israeli army told Haaretz it treats looting “with utmost severity” and strictly prohibits it, adding that disciplinary and criminal measures are taken when necessary. It also said military police conduct inspections at the boundary between Israel and Lebanon.
However, the report said some checkpoints intended to prevent looting at exit points from southern Lebanon have been removed, while others were never set up.
One soldier said “lenient enforcement” was enabling the scale of the phenomenon.
“When there is no punishment, the message is obvious,” he said.
Israeli troops have been accused of committing widespread war crimes in Lebanon and Gaza since October 2023, including the destruction of civilian infrastructure and looting.
Last week, soldiers were filmed destroying a home in southern Lebanon “in memory” of another trooper killed in combat, while another image showed a soldier cooking inside a civilian house, drawing criticism.
Israel resumed a full-scale war on Lebanon on 2 March after more than a year of violations of the ceasefire agreed with Hezbollah in November 2024.
Since then, Israeli forces have expanded their ground invasion in southern Lebanon, pushing several kilometres beyond the boundary.
Despite a US-backed 10-day truce announced last week, Israeli forces have continued to bomb Lebanon and demolish homes.
They have also established a so-called “buffer zone” extending roughly 10km into southern Lebanon, where troops remain deployed and restrict civilians' access to their own villages.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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