An explosive new investigation published by Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Thursday has uncovered systemic large-scale looting of civilian property from homes and commercial establishments across southern Lebanon by Israeli soldiers, with the open approval and inaction of senior and junior military commanders. Multiple on-the-record testimonies from active-duty soldiers and officers paint a picture of rampant, unregulated theft that has become routine during Israel’s ongoing ground incursion into southern Lebanon, with stolen items ranging from everyday household goods such as televisions, sofas, carpets and paintings to motorbikes, cigarettes and construction tools. What makes the practice even more brazen, witnesses say, is that soldiers make no effort to conceal the stolen goods as they withdraw from occupied areas, openly loading pilfered property onto military vehicles in full view of command staff. One soldier described the scale of the looting as staggering, telling the outlet: “It’s on a crazy scale. Anyone who takes something – televisions, cigarettes, tools, whatever – immediately puts it in their vehicle or leaves it to the side. It’s not hidden. Everyone sees it and understands.” Testimonies uniformly confirm that military commanders have consistently failed to impose meaningful disciplinary action to halt the practice, despite having full knowledge of the ongoing theft. Many units see commanders completely ignore the looting, while others only issue token verbal condemnation without any follow-up penalties. One insider stated, “In our unit, they don’t even comment or get angry. The battalion and brigade commanders know everything.” Another witness recalled a single incident where a commander publicly yelled at soldiers found transporting looted goods in a military jeep and ordered them to throw the items away, but no further disciplinary or criminal action was pursued against the personnel involved. “Commanders speak against it and say it’s serious, but they don’t do anything,” another soldier summarized. In a formal statement provided to Haaretz, the Israeli military claimed it treats looting “with utmost severity” and maintains a strict ban on the practice, asserting that disciplinary and criminal proceedings are initiated when violations are confirmed. The army also noted that military police carry out routine inspections at the Israel-Lebanon border to intercept stolen property. But Haaretz’s reporting contradicts these official claims: the investigation found that many border checkpoints intended to catch looted goods at exit points from southern Lebanon have already been dismantled, while other planned checkpoints were never constructed at all. Soldiers told the outlet that this deliberate lack of enforcement is what has allowed the looting crisis to balloon to its current size. One soldier explained, “When there is no punishment, the message is obvious.” This latest revelation of widespread looting adds to a growing list of war crime accusations leveled against Israeli forces operating in Lebanon and Gaza since October 2023. Previous allegations include the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure, extrajudicial killings of non-combatants, and trespass on civilian property for recreational purposes. Just last week, viral footage emerged showing Israeli soldiers demolishing an occupied civilian home in southern Lebanon “in memory” of a fallen comrade, while a separate photograph showed a soldier preparing food inside an abandoned Lebanese civilian residence – both incidents drew widespread international condemnation. The current round of full-scale Israeli military operations in Lebanon began on March 2 this year, ending more than 12 months of intermittent violations of a November 2024 ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah. Since launching the expanded ground invasion, Israeli forces have pushed several kilometers inside Lebanese territory, establishing a self-declared “buffer zone” that extends roughly 10 kilometers into southern Lebanon. Israeli troops currently remain deployed across this zone, barring Lebanese civilians from returning to their native villages and ancestral homes. Even after the announcement of a U.S.-brokered 10-day truce last week, Israeli forces have continued to carry out airstrikes across southern Lebanon and systematically demolish civilian residential structures, according to on-the-ground reports.