High Level Military Group Concludes That the IDF is
‘the Most Moral Army in History’
We have already heard this conclusion — that the IDF is “the most moral army in history” — from both Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British forces in Afghanistan, and from West Point Professor of Urban Warfare John Spencer.
Now the High Level Military Group, which is made up of retired chiefs of staff, senior generals, and cabinet ministers from NATO countries, have issued their own report on how the IDF has been conducting its war in Gaza, and they too, have concluded that the IDF is “the most moral army in history.”
The description of their study, and their conclusions, can be found here:
Israel’s army is not only moral. It is the most moral army in history.
Elder of Ziyon, August 9, 2024:
The High Level Military Group is “an independent body of former chiefs of staff, senior military officers and cabinet ministers from NATO countries with many decades of expertise at the highest level of land, air and sea conflict and the legality thereof,” that includes members from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, Finland, and the Netherlands.
The HLMG has filed an amicus curiae brief to the International Criminal Court, describing why the ICC charges against Israel of intentional starvation and unlawful killing in Gaza are false.
Not just false, but egregiously and absurdly false.
Within the report, the experts list no less than three ways that Israel conducts itself in war that are unmatched by any other military in history.
On the “starvation” charge, they describe in detail Israel’s efforts to bring aid into Gaza and then conclude:
It is our considered military opinion that the State of Israel and the IDF are and have been since the inception of this operation complying in good faith with all international legal obligations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Based on our experience and knowledge, Israel is facilitating aid to a level we have not seen in our own militaries and we are not aware of our forces’ efforts or even capabilities to conduct similar operations. We do not believe any other armed forces have ever made such efforts, or achieved such success, in facilitating aid delivery to civilians in enemy territory while still engaged in active hostilities in that same operational environment. It is our professional view that accusations of an intent to starve civilians by the Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defence are unsupported by all available evidence, most importantly by the actual conduct of IDF operations in and around Gaza.
On the unlawful killing charge, they add another example where Israel does things to protect civilians above and beyond every military in recorded history:
One of the most pertinent examples of innovative civilian risk mitigation is the Civilian Harm Mitigation Cell (CHMC), established prior to the conflict and in operation during every phase. The CHMC integrates digital map technology, updated hourly, and intelligence to show population density in each area of Gaza. Every IDF operations centre has access to this map which is cross-checked with real-time air surveillance to verify civilian presence.
IDF targeting of air strikes is made in conjunction with the CHMC and influenced by civilian population density in a particular area. Selection of munition size is based on the nature of the military target, intelligence regarding enemy presence and the proximity of civilians.
It is our professional opinion that such a unit is extremely unusual and we are not aware of any other military with a comparable risk mitigation methodology. We assess this is an unprecedented measure, along with millions of leaflet drops, phone calls, text and voice messages, to help commanders prevent or minimise risk to civilian life. How such innovative efforts align with an allegation of the defendants in this matter directing the IDF to intentionally attack civilians is perplexing.
Finally, they note how Israel’s internal investigations of incidents during wartime also operate at a speed and efficiency never before seen by any other army, ever:
During our assessment we visited the IDF Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism which examines any incident that could raise a charge of possible illegal conduct or military procedural misconduct (except for incidents that immediately raise suspicion of criminal misconduct, which are sent directly for criminal investigation). There are currently approximately 300 incidents being actively investigated by the FFAM, with many more which they have received initial information about. To our knowledge no other armed forces have established such a permanent system but would benefit from doing so.
In respect to the speed of the FFAM’s processes, Australia’s Special Advisor, Air Chief Marshal Binskin, reporting on the World Central Kitchen strike, stated: ‘…the ADF [Australian Defence Force] could not have imposed equivalent reprimands as quickly as the IDF CGS [Chief of General Staff] was able to.’
By way of comparison, we draw your attention to war crimes investigations by comparable armed forces in Australia and the UK. The Brereton report was commissioned by the Inspector-General of the ADF to investigate war crimes by Australian forces committed between 2005 and 2016 . The investigation began in 2016 and reported in 2020. Charges were not brought until 2023.
The Haddon-Cave Independent Inquiry was commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence to investigate alleged special forces war crimes in Afghanistan committed between 2010 and 2013. It was established in 2022 and is ongoing. These two inquiries give a clear parallel to Israeli investigations of war crimes and demonstrate the length of time required to give an equitable, legal outcome in such investigations….
It will be fascinating to see how the president of the Israel-bashing International Criminal Court deals with this report from the High Level Military Group that methodically contradicts every one of the charges leveled at Israel by the South Africans before the ICC. This report by the HLMG is being filed as an amicus brief, and coming from such a distinguished group, cannot be ignored. It will be fascinating to see how the ICC, consumed as it is with anti-Israel animus, tries to deny the HLMG’s conclusion, that the IDF “is the most moral army in the history of warfare.”
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