Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals ‘similar to Russia’, internal British army report says

An internal British army media report has acknowledged that Israel is “bombing hospitals and ambulances”, claiming its troops are breaching the Geneva Convention in ways not done by Germany in World War Two.

The comments are contained in an interview between a senior army doctor and a presenter from the UK military’s own communications department, who draw parallels with Israeli conduct in Gaza and Russian atrocities in Ukraine.

Their comments indicate that within Britain’s armed forces, personnel are speaking more frankly about Israeli war crimes than ministers.

A member of the UK military, who asked to remain anonymous, told Declassified: “This video casually contradicts the government’s public position – that Israel is not systematically committing war crimes, so we can continue to arm and train their forces – because everyone in its intended audience knows that to be untrue.

“The comments in the video reflect common sentiments I have heard expressed within the armed forces, and for many personnel that recognition is a source of deep unease.”

Military co-operation between London and Tel Aviv has not been suspended. An Israeli colonel graduated from a UK military academy just last month, while the head of Israel’s air force was able to visit a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Oxfordshire.

Arms exports for the F-35, Israel’s most advanced fighter jet, have been allowed to continue via third countries. Hundreds of RAF surveillance flights have flown over Gaza since 2023.

‘Even the Germans’

Footage from the interview – some of which has been seen by Declassified – was posted this week on Defence Connect, the Ministry of Defence’s private social network.

The presenter, Derek Tedder, describes Russian and Israeli militaries as having less regard for parts of the Geneva Convention than the German army had in World War Two.

The Geneva Convention is a series of international treaties governing the way armies should behave in battle, setting out safeguards for civilians, the injured and enemy prisoners.

The colonel being interviewed, who is unnamed but is a commander of field army medicine, does not disagree with the presenter’s framing of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In his introduction, Tedder said: “The Russians and the Israelis have both been accused of striking hospitals, ambulances and other health care facilities. In Gaza, it’s also being alleged that Israel is now killing those queuing for humanitarian aid.

“In the Second World War, even the Germans respected that part of the Geneva Convention. So if the British army is ever called upon to fight in a similar conflict, what would happen to our seriously injured soldiers on the battlefield”?

A caption describing the video was more explicit, stating “countries such as Russia and Israel [are] bombing hospitals and ambulances”.

A screenshot of the video on Defence Connect

Later in the interview, the presenter said “I’m pretty sure if my history serves me correctly, that the Germans never bombed hospitals.”

Tedder appeared unaware that Germany did shoot doctors and bomb medical facilities in WW2, including Queen Mary’s children’s hospital in south London.

The colonel, seated in a studio with the British army logo, replied: “In the Second World War, we saw the Geneva Convention being really carefully observed by all sides. That’s not the case with the current conflict in Ukraine.”

Tedder interjected: “And also in the Middle East we believe?”

Colonel: “Indeed, and we’ve seen hundreds of medical facilities and ambulances specifically targeted.”

Such attacks have become so common that the colonel has had to review how the British army would care for soldiers on the battlefield in future conflicts if hospitals were destroyed.

Commenting further on the video, the armed forces member who spoke to Declassified said: “Every single military service person, as part of the UK’s Geneva Convention obligations, must undergo annual training in international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict.

“Every single service person knows what a war crime is, and knows they have been seeing them take place in Gaza daily for the past two years.

“Those in noncombatant roles especially are aware that they operate in a far more dangerous environment today than perhaps ever before as the targeting of healthcare workers has become normalised.

“Russia shoulders much blame for this, but equally Israel’s ongoing genocidal rampage, illegally supported throughout (and still) by the UK and other Western governments.

“By condemning one party and granting impunity to the other for the same crimes, we have effectively destroyed the system of international humanitarian law that emerged from the horrors of the Second World War.”

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.

‘Resemble our own’

Every hospital in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli military, who accuse Hamas of using medical facilities as command posts, despite presenting little or no evidence.

Disquiet within the British military at Israel’s conduct is in sharp contrast to court documents the government submitted to defend arms exports to Israel.

Those documents claimed that the IDF’s rules of engagement for urban warfare were similar to the British army’s.

Writing privately last summer, the Foreign Office recorded how Britain’s “deputy chief of defence staff previously concluded that Israel appears to have thorough and rigorous processes for the conduct of hostilities and targeting, that in many respects resemble our own.

“In this assessment, we found that the description given by the IDF of the Rules of Engagement for ground personnel also reflected the UK’s own approach to these issues and are indicative of a force applying the principles of proportionality and distinction”.

It went on to note: “Over this period, the healthcare system [in Gaza] continued to collapse…most hospitals had ceased providing maternity care despite an average of 180 women giving birth each day; during the period 5-19 June 2024 there were no functioning hospitals in Rafah.

“As noted previously, we are aware of numerous reports of Hamas deliberately embedding itself in civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, and we have not found any possible breaches of IHL [international humanitarian law] in the conduct of hostilities involving medical facilities.”

The court filings angered some UK army veterans, including retired Brigadier John Deverell, who found the claim “surprising” and is writing to the prime minister to refute it.