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A former Israeli soldier who served in the military spokesperson’s unit said the army manipulated information released about operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including labeling innocent Palestinians as “terrorists” and shaping statements according to specific audiences.
Ayelet Kroizer, the new spokesperson for Israeli nongovernmental organization Breaking the Silence, described her military service and experiences in a post on X.
Kroizer said she grew up in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, community and gave up her military exemption three years ago to enlist during the war because she believed she was helping defend the country.
“At the time, I joined the army believing I was defending the state,” she said, adding that she never expected to later work for Breaking the Silence.
Kroizer said her work in the Israeli military spokesperson’s unit exposed her not only to events in Gaza and the West Bank, but also to how the military presented them to the public.
“I saw how much control the IDF spokesperson has over shaping our picture of reality, and it's problematic playing with the truth as if it were another public relations body rather than a body accountable to the public,” she wrote.
According to Kroizer, the unit’s goal when communicating with the Israeli public was defined as strengthening public trust in the military.
“The public’s right to know was secondary at best,” she said.
She said communications aimed at international audiences were designed to strengthen and expand legitimacy for Israeli military operations, adding: “Here too, the price was the truth.”
Kroizer said she personally took part in preparing information released to the media.
“During my service, I played with the details that went out to the media,” she wrote. “I saw how the word ‘terrorist’ was attached even to innocent Palestinians and how statements were tailored according to the target audience and the goal set before it.”
She said she had never been comfortable remaining silent in the face of injustice but found herself doing public relations for actions she regarded as unjust.
Kroizer also described how the military spokesperson’s unit handled statements following deadly attacks in Gaza.
“I learned how to formulate dozens of deaths in a single strike and automatically add that we regret any harm to uninvolved civilians,” she wrote. “That was part of my daily routine.”
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