IDF Chief Responds to 'NAZA' Film: 'Lies and Baseless Manipulations'

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir addressed the controversy surrounding the film 'NAZA' and what he said were attempts to discredit IDF soldiers and commanders. Speaking at an appreciation event for donors to the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers, Zamir emphasized the military's commitment to its values and to international law, alongside the need to defend the reputation of those who serve in it.

Zamir connected the response to allegations against the IDF with the value of mutual responsibility in Israeli society: "The expression 'All of Israel is responsible for one another' is also the deepest expression of each individual's responsibility for the well-being of the entire people. This important principle is reflected in the attempts to discredit IDF soldiers and commanders in a variety of ways, using lies and baseless manipulations; this is a national and international mission, and we must rise to it on every platform and before every accuser and state clearly: The IDF is the most moral army in the world."

The IDF chief stressed that confronting attempts to harm the IDF's reputation is not the army's responsibility alone, but, in his view, a national and international mission that requires a clear response to the allegations directed at its soldiers and commanders.

Zamir went on to address how the IDF operates in combat zones, contrasting it with the actions of Israel's enemies. He said that even during a complex and difficult campaign, the military continues to uphold the norms of warfare and minimize harm to civilians: "In the face of deliberate attacks on our civilians, in the face of a barbaric raid targeting the civilian population, in the face of missiles launched at city centers, we adhere to IDF values and international law and do everything in our power to avoid harming innocent people."