Israeli soldiers have been using social media to sell the valuables they stole from Palestinian homes in Gaza as well as Lebanon, an investigation by Hebrew-language newspaper HaMakom HaChim BeGehinom (The Hottest Place in Hell) has revealed.

The report published on March 4 cites testimonies from Israeli soldiers and commanders who detail their experiences of witnessing looting in the besieged enclave, where they say they witnessed “so much looting that it no longer surprised” them.

The stolen items range from large sums of cash and valuable jewelry to computers, smartphones, electronic devices, furniture, clothing, and cosmetics, according to the newspaper. Keffiyehs, rugs and prayer beads are also among the items looted to keep as souvenirs.

The soldiers have been using various digital platforms, including Facebook Marketplace, to sell looted items. However, the majority of transactions occur in closed and private Telegram groups, which are accessible only by invitation and subject to strict vetting, often the same platforms where drugs and weapons are traded.

"During the first round, my platoon commander and I would go through soldiers' bags to see what they had stolen. There were keffiyehs, rugs, whatever you could think of. Everyone took some kind of souvenir," the report cites a soldier from the Nahal Brigade as saying.

"We would enter raids just to check for weapons, and people were hysterically searching for prayer beads,” another soldier told the newspaper.

“They collected them, compared them, and one guy would tear apart children's rooms just to find a prayer necklace.”

Initially, the decision to inspect soldiers’ bags for stolen items was an independent effort by the soldier and his platoon commander. However, as looting became widespread, with soldiers routinely taking property from Gaza, crossing the border with it, and treating it as their own, they eventually abandoned the practice.

“We stopped doing it after the first and second rounds. It was the whole battalion. Everywhere, soldiers were doing it, and everywhere, they managed to hide it,” he told the newspaper.

According to him, the issue extended beyond soldiers taking small souvenirs like keffiyehs. Officials responsible for distributing food and supplies among soldiers also took advantage of their logistical role to engage in looting by transporting stolen furniture and household items from Gaza back to their military units with their supply trucks.

“They would unload all the food and ammunition and load the trucks with sofas and furniture for the company,” the soldier was quoted as saying.

Looting had become so commonplace that it was no longer just a case of individual soldiers acting on their own, but rather, as he describes it, “a senior commander taking equipment from people's homes in Gaza, with the full knowledge of the deputy battalion commander and battalion commander.”

When he raised concerns with his deputy company commander, he was told that while it certainly looked bad, "there was nothing he could do about it."

Looting, pillaging, and spoliation are considered violations of international humanitarian law. 

Although Israeli law also prohibits looting, the Israeli military justice system has been known for failing to hold its soldiers accountable. In 2021, an Israeli watchdog reported that under one percent of Israel army probes yield prosecution, based on the findings of an analysis covering the 2017-2021 period.

Despite overwhelming evidence of misconduct, prosecutions are rare, sentences are lenient, and the vast majority of cases are quietly closed with no action taken.