Does Israel Adhere to Humanitarian Protocols?
What Israel’s own bodies publish: the IDF ethical code, stated precautions, 74 investigations opened, and COGAT’s recorded aid tonnages.
74 criminal investigations into alleged misconduct in Gaza had been opened as at 3 August 2024, on the published count of the IDF Military Advocate General’s Corps, which applies a stated reasonable-suspicion standard and counts its own processes. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories recorded 1,778,363 metric tons of food entering Gaza between 10 October 2025 and 7 June 2026, COGAT’s own count, resting on tonnages self-declared by suppliers rather than weighed at the crossings. The Israel Defense Forces publishes its ethical code, the Spirit of the IDF, which sets out six values and names purity of arms among them. No Israeli body publishes a finding on whether its own forces complied with humanitarian law.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 values | Values set out in the Spirit of the IDF, the army’s own ethical code, purity of arms among them | Israel Defense Forces | Undated doctrine, as published |
| 74 | Criminal investigations opened into alleged misconduct in Gaza, the Corps’ own count of its own processes, under a reasonable-suspicion standard | IDF Military Advocate General’s Corps | As at 3 August 2024 |
| Over 1,000 | Incidents identified as requiring factual assessment and referred to the General Staff Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, the Corps’ own count, a floor | IDF Military Advocate General’s Corps | As at 3 August 2024 |
| 1,778,363 metric tons | Food recorded entering Gaza, COGAT’s own count, on tonnages self-declared by suppliers and private providers | Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories | 10 October 2025 to 7 June 2026 |
| More than 1.9 million tons | Aid the army states it delivered, its own count, published as a floor | Israel Defense Forces | Start of the Swords of Iron war to 19 August 2025 |
| Over 70,000 tons | Aid entering Gaza, the Ministry’s own count, published as a floor | Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Cumulative to 16 December 2023 |
| More than 106,000 | Aid trucks entering Gaza, Israel’s own stated total | Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Mission in France | 7 October 2023 to 14 September 2025 |
The Spirit of the IDF names purity of arms among its values
The Spirit of the IDF is the army’s own published ethical code, its statement of the standard it says binds its personnel, and it is not an account of conduct or a count of anything. On purity of arms the code states: “An IDF soldier will only exercise their power or use their weapon in order to fulfill their mission and only when necessary,” and that the soldier “will not use their weapon or power to harm uninvolved civilians and prisoners and will do everything in their power to prevent harm to their lives, bodies, dignity and property.” On human life it states that the soldier “will recognize the critical importance of human life,” and on discipline that the soldier will “ensure they are only giving out legal orders, and do not follow illegal orders.”
The six values the code sets out:
- Purity of Arms
- Human Life
- Discipline
- Professionalism
- Camaraderie
- Sense of Mission
What does the IDF state it does before a strike?
The Israel Defense Forces states, in its own account of its own procedures, that it warns civilians before strikes and aborts strikes in certain circumstances; it publishes no count of warnings issued, roof knocks performed or strikes aborted. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs published its own position statement on 17 September 2025, giving figures stated as of 14 September 2025 and referring readers to COGAT for humanitarian aid detail.
- Warnings by telephone calls, text messages and leaflets, and a numbered evacuation-area map published in December 2023 so residents could follow instructions by area, on the army’s own account.
- Roof knocking, a loud non-lethal munition, before striking a building, on the army’s own account.
- Strikes aborted when civilians are present, on the army’s own account.
- The army’s stated position that Hamas sites military infrastructure, headquarters, launchers and weapons storage in residential buildings, hospitals, mosques and schools, and that Hamas broadcast messages telling residents to ignore evacuation warnings.
- At a briefing on 29 February 2024 the IDF Spokesperson stated over 13,000 people the army describes as terrorists eliminated in Gaza and about 3,400 apprehended in Judea and Samaria jointly with the ISA, both the army’s own counts and its own characterisation, published as a floor and an approximation.
The Corps applies a reasonable-suspicion standard to alleged misconduct
The Military Advocate General’s Corps opened 74 criminal investigations as at 3 August 2024, its own count of its own processes, and states that in armed conflict “death or injury to a civilian or harm to civilian objects, while tragic and regrettable, in most cases do not by themselves indicate a reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct.” The 74 are investigations opened, not findings, indictments or convictions. The count and the machinery behind it are set out separately.
COGAT records 1,778,363 tons of food entering Gaza on its own count
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories recorded 1,778,363 metric tons of food entering Gaza between 10 October 2025 and 7 June 2026, COGAT’s own count, resting on tonnages self-declared by humanitarian organizations and private sector providers rather than weighed at the crossings. Two other Israeli bodies publish tonnage totals of their own, over different periods and covering different categories of goods, and the three may not be summed or compared as one series. What each body counts entering Gaza differs by publication.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,778,363 metric tons | Food only, COGAT’s own count on self-declared tonnages | Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories | 10 October 2025 to 7 June 2026 |
| More than 1.9 million tons | All aid, the army’s own count, a floor | Israel Defense Forces | Start of the Swords of Iron war to 19 August 2025 |
| Over 70,000 tons | All aid, the Ministry’s own count, a floor, of which over 6,500 tons medical supplies | Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Cumulative to 16 December 2023 |
| 18,000 tons | Medical supplies and medicines, COGAT’s own count | Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories | Since 10 October 2025, as at July 2026 |
No Israeli body publishes a finding on its forces’ compliance
The Military Advocate General’s Corps publishes the number of criminal investigations it has opened and the number of incidents referred to the General Staff Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, its own counts of its own processes, and publishes no findings, indictment or conviction count in that publication. The Corps states that the Military Advocate General “is subject only to the law on professional matters and operates with full independence,” and that its decisions can be challenged before the Attorney General and the Supreme Court. No State Comptroller audit chapter drawn on here reports on conduct of hostilities.
Which figures may not be added together?
Every figure on this page is a body’s own count of its own activity or its own processes, published by that body and carrying its own period. The 74 investigations count investigations opened under a stated reasonable-suspicion standard, so the count moves with the threshold and is not a count of findings. Tonnages published by COGAT, the Israel Defense Forces and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cover different goods over different windows and are not one series. Floors stay floors: “more than 1.9 million tons” is not 1,900,000, and “over 70,000 tons” is not 70,000. The Corps’ “over 1,000 incidents” is likewise a floor.
Questions readers ask
How many criminal investigations has the Military Advocate General’s Corps opened over Gaza?
The Military Advocate General’s Corps opened 74 criminal investigations as at 3 August 2024, on its own count of its own processes.
What threshold produces that count?
The Military Advocate General’s Corps states that it applies a reasonable suspicion standard, and that civilian death or injury in armed conflict in most cases does not by itself indicate a reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct.
Are the 74 findings, indictments or convictions?
No. The Military Advocate General’s Corps published them as investigations opened, and no findings, indictment or conviction count appears in that publication.
What is the Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism?
The Military Advocate General’s Corps states it is a permanent General Staff body conducting factual assessments, created during the 2014 Gaza conflict on a recommendation of the Turkel Commission, and that over 1,000 incidents had been referred to it.
Who publishes the food tonnage entering Gaza?
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories recorded 1,778,363 metric tons of food between 10 October 2025 and 7 June 2026, its own count on tonnages self-declared by suppliers.
Can the tonnage totals be added together?
No. The Israel Defense Forces published more than 1.9 million tons of all aid to 19 August 2025, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published over 70,000 tons to 16 December 2023; the counts cover different goods over different windows.
Which values does the Spirit of the IDF set out?
The Israel Defense Forces publishes six values: Purity of Arms, Human Life, Discipline, Professionalism, Camaraderie and Sense of Mission.
Does the IDF publish how many warnings it issued?
No. The Israel Defense Forces states that it issues warnings, performs roof knocks and aborts strikes, and publishes no count for any of them.
How many aid trucks does Israel state entered Gaza?
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated more than 106,000 aid trucks carrying over two million tons as at 14 September 2025, and more than 12,000 trucks since May 2025, 80% of them carrying food.
How much water does COGAT state is entering Gaza?
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories reported more than 70,000 cubic meters per day facilitated through external water lines and desalination facilities, excluding local wells, as at its July 2026 report, a floor on its own count.
Does any Israeli body publish a compliance finding?
No such finding was published by the bodies drawn on here. The Military Advocate General’s Corps publishes counts of referrals and investigations opened, and nothing on compliance as an outcome.
Sources
- Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, 2026. Humanitarian Situation Report During the Ceasefire. gaza-aid-data.gov.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own reported count.
- Israel Defense Forces, undated. The Spirit of the IDF: the ethical code and its values. idf.il. Official or primary record, the party’s own published doctrine.
- Israel Defense Forces, undated. Stated precautions in Gaza and the human shields position. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own stated position.
- Israel Defense Forces, 2024. Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, February 29th, 2024. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own reported count.
- Israel Defense Forces, 2025. Clearing Up the Misconceptions: Everything You Need to Know About the Humanitarian Aid Situation in Gaza. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own reported count.
- Israel Defense Forces, Military Advocate General’s Corps, 2024. Addressing Alleged Misconduct in the Context of the War in Gaza. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own reported count.
- Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023. Israel-Hamas Conflict 2023: Humanitarian Efforts. gov.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own reported count.
- Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Mission of Israel to the Multilateral Organizations in France, 2025. Israel’s Objectives and Current Operation. embassies.gov.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own reported count.
