Steep Learning Curve. Slow Growth. "These are people of the book, who work best with their minds, questioning always... Military skills on the ground? eyesight? not so good."

 "The soldiers are afraid to die protecting their country or their people".  An honest assessment of the way the I.D.F. wages wars:

Critics have seized on the shooting as an example of the Israeli military’s disregard for civilians in the territory. Since Israel responded to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack by mounting a military campaign in Gaza, nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, about 70 percent of whom were women and children, according to health authorities in Gaza.

General Halevi said it was the policy of Israel’s military to arrest people who lay down their arms and raise their hands. He said more than 1,000 such individuals had been taken into custody, and that valuable intelligence had been obtained as a result.

“We don’t shoot them, because the I.D.F. doesn’t shoot a person who raises their hands,” he said, using the acronym for the Israeli military. “That’s strength, not weakness.”

— The New York Times