Baseless claim Israeli defense minister said country 'abolished' rules of war | Fact check

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY

The claim: Israel defense minister announced Israel has ‘abolished all the rules of war’

An Oct. 10 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims an Israeli government official made a stark comment amid the Israel-Hamas war.

“Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant: ‘The Israeli army is launching a full-scale offensive on the Gaza Strip,’” reads the post. “We have abolished all the rules of war. Our soldiers will not be held accountable for anything. There will be no military courts.”

It was shared more than 40 times in four days. Other versions of the claim accumulated thousands of additional shares across Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Our rating: False

There is no evidence Gallant said this. Versions of the claim reference Gallant's message to Israeli troops along the Gaza border, but media accounts of those remarks include no mention of abolishing the rules of war.

Gallant's remarks describe 'full offense' amid Hamas war, not ignoring rules of war

Some versions of the claim include a lengthier quotation attributed to Gallant. It says Israel is “moving to a full offense” and “Hamas wanted a change in Gaza, it will change 180 degrees from what it thought.”

Those comments roughly match Gallant’s message to troops along the Gaza border on Oct. 10, as reported by the Times of Israel. He says:

There is no reference to Israel abandoning the rules of war in the remarks. Though some versions of the claim attributed the supposed quote to Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik, there is no such quotation in any of the outlet’s articles on Gallant.

Fact check: Historic Gaza church open for services, undamaged by Israeli airstrikes

Both Israel and Hamas have been criticized for possible violations of the rules of war, including killing civilians and taking them as hostages, Reuters reported. Israel has also been criticized for preventing food, water, medicine and fuel from entering Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

A United Nations commission said it has been “collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides,” the Associated Press reported.

Israeli tanks gather in a field near the kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on Oct. 14, 2023, close to the spot where 270 revelers were gunned down or burnt in their cars by Hamas gunmen at the Supernova music festival in the Negev desert on Oct. 7. Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which killed at least 1300 people, sparking a retaliatory bombing campaign that has killed more than 1900 in the Gaza Strip ahead of a potential Israeli ground invasion of the territory.

President Joe Biden has also urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to observe the rules of war in retaliating against Hamas, according to outlets including CNN, the Hill and PBS.

USA TODAY has debunked an array of false claims about the Israel-Hamas war, including that a video showed Russian President Vladimir Putin warning the U.S. to not interfere in the conflict, that the Department of Defense evacuated the U.S. embassy in Beirut and told Americans to leave Lebanon immediately and that a video shows Israel fabricating a child’s injuries.

USA TODAY reached out to several users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No basis for claim Israel said it abolished rules of war | Fact check

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