FIRST ON MS NOW: Troops fighting against Iran say they are being asked to violate international law

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIjV038-skU

 

Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military

The Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog...

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/15/pentagon-civilian-death-program

 

Trump DoD Axed a Program Meant to Limit Civilian Casualties — ProPublica

The Pentagon dismantled its civilian protection mission as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made "lethality" a top priority and the Trump administration reorganized national security around two principles: more aggression, less accountability...

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-defense-department-iran-hegseth-civilian-casualties 

 

Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war

Figures from a classified Israeli military intelligence database indicate five out of six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza have been civilians, an extreme rate of slaughter rarely matched in recent decades of warfare...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/aug/21/revealed-israeli-militarys-own-data-indicates-civilian-death-rate-of-83-in-gaza-war

 

Trump team guts Pentagon office focused on reducing civilian deaths - The Washington Post

The Defense Department is set to make deep cuts to the civilian workforce focused on reducing civilian harm in U.S. military operations, according to three defense officials, part of a broader Trump administration shift to scale back protections of innocents so commanders can focus more on "lethality" when conducting military strikes...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/03/04/trump-hegseth-pentagon-firings-civilian-harm/

Trump moves to close Pentagon office focused on curbing civilian deaths - The Washington Post

Officials who have worked in the Center of Excellence and on other aspects of the Pentagon's system for improving its record on civilian harm have sought to counter the perception that it imposes constraints on military commanders as they target adversaries or establishes punitive measures for personnel carrying out such missions.

Rather, they described the system, which includes more than 150 people across Defense Department offices and combatant commands, as a tool that provides commanders more information as they conduct operations, informing targeters or military planners about patterns of life in a particular area, identifying cultural sites and averting unintended deaths before they occur…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/01/23/trump-pentagon-civilian-deaths/

How the 'laws of war' apply to the conflict between Israel and Hamas

While Israel bears primary responsibility to avoid excessive civilian deaths in its bombardment of Gaza, Hamas' ability to claim the bombardment constitutes a war crime would be weakened if it deliberately places its own people in harms way..

https://theconversation.com/how-the-laws-of-war-apply-to-the-conflict-between-israel-and-hamas-215493

Journalist says U.S. air war against ISIS killed countless civilians in Syria (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)

New York Times reporter Dave Philipps says a top-secret special ops unit disregarded official protocols to pick targets for airstrikes, resulting in the death of thousands of farmers and families.

Interview: 

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/13/1072735380/journalist-says-u-s-air-war-against-isis-killed-countless-civilians-in-syria