Is 'Purity of Arms' holding the IDF back? Inside Israel’s battle over military ethics

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) faces ongoing ethical dilemmas regarding its "Purity of Arms" doctrine, particularly in urban warfare against non-state actors. This ethos, formalized in the "Ruah Zahal" (Spirit of the IDF) code of ethics, mandates using force only for the mission, to the necessary extent, and avoiding harm to noncombatants. Recent changes, such as requiring higher authorization for strikes and halting immediate-response fire, have led to concerns that Hamas is exploiting these restrictions, with one senior security official stating, "Hamas is testing us, exactly as it did before Oct. 7."

• John Spencer, chairman of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, praised Israel's efforts to prevent civilian harm, noting in a March 2024 Newsweek op-ed that "Israel has done more and implemented more measures to prevent civilian harm than any military in the history of urban warfare."
• These measures include mass evacuation warnings, phone calls, "roof-knocking," distribution of safe route maps, frequent tactical pauses, and extensive use of precision-guided munitions.
• The "Purity of Arms" tradition, originating from pre-state Jewish defense organizations, was codified in 1994 by then-IDF chief of staff Ehud Barak and ethicist Asa Kasher.
• Kasher's views on victory, particularly against non-state actors, suggest that the classical notion of total victory is often obsolete, replaced by the ideal of successfully accomplishing given missions.