The Israeli military has implemented new restrictions on media coverage of soldiers on active combat duty, spotlighting concerns about potential legal repercussions for reservists traveling abroad due to allegations of war crimes in Gaza. This initiative was prompted by a recent incident involving an Israeli reservist in Brazil, who departed suddenly after a Brazilian judge called for an investigation concerning possible war crimes committed during his service in Gaza, as reported by Reuters.

Under the newly established rules, media personnel are prohibited from displaying the full names or faces of soldiers ranked colonel and below during interviews. This aligns with already existing protocols for pilots and special forces members. Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, explained that interviewees will not be permitted to connect their identities to any specific combat event they participated in. “This is our new guideline to protect our soldiers and to make sure they are safe from these types of incident hosted by anti-Israel activists around the world,” Shoshani stated, as mentioned in The Guardian.

Shoshani also noted that while existing military regulations advise soldiers against sharing images or videos from conflict zones on social media, compliance is often imperfect. Long-standing travel guidelines for soldiers have also been reinforced. He noted that activist organizations, such as the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation, have been instrumental in facilitating these investigations abroad by linking online posts from soldiers to their locations within active war zones.

In a wider context, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last year against prominent Israeli figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes tied to Gaza issues, prompting significant backlash within Israel. Shoshani remarked that there have been “a handful” of similar cases where reservists overseas faced scrutiny. However, none have resulted in formal investigations or charges.