IDF: OK to Take Food in War

Maayana Miskin IDF: OK to Take Food in War

IDF legal advisers announced Thursday that in times of war, soldiers may take food and water from civilian homes and stores. The ruling was part of IDF efforts to deal with problems encountered during the Second Lebanon War. One of the serious issues hindering IDF soldiers during the war was the lack of supplies, including food. Many soldiers went without food for days. When soldiers who were left without rations attempted to take food from Lebanese homes, they were reprimanded by their commanders and told to leave the food in its place.

Committees established to rectify wartime failures met with soldiers, many of whom angrily complained about the lack of food. Commanders expressed fear that taking food from civilians would be considered an act of plunder, soldiers said.

After months of deliberations, IDF legal experts determined that soldiers located in enemy territory in wartime who lack rations may break into civilian homes and stores to take food and drink. Taking food in times of need is acceptable under international law, they decided, and foreign armies do so as well.

"Commanders in the Second Lebanon War meant to do good, but they were wrong in preventing their soldiers from eating out of fear that it would be considered looting,” a senior official said. “A soldier may take food in order to survive.”

The legal experts determined what exactly soldiers can and cannot take in times of war. Soldiers may take only what is necessary, they said, and cannot take items not needed for immediate survival such as cigarettes or soda. Soldiers may take gas if necessary.

"T” is a former soldier who spent several days in Lebanon during the war. He and his fellow troops were given insufficient rations during the war, and each soldier was forced to get by on part of a roll and one-fourth of a can of meat each day, he said. “T” praised the decision, saying, “It's about time the army learns that in a war there are certain rules you just have to break.”
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