The psychology of soldiers and accidents in the Hamas war - opinion

• Published date: 06 April 2024
• Author: RENEE GARFINKEL
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Israel was delighted when the WCK offered to help feed Gaza. The neutral and private organization, which reportedly had delivered food to Israeli survivors of Hamas's barbaric October 7 attack, had previous experience delivering meals in other dangerous places and was willing to get involved. WCK was welcomed, assisted, and coordinated with the IDF. They got off to a good start. Then came the tragedy. A convoy of three vehicles containing seven passengers was hit by drone-fired missiles, resulting in the deaths of all. How could this deadly mistake happen

Let's begin by examining what is known about the occurrence of lethal errors in wartime. If you're anything like me, the facts will break your heart.One type of lethal error in wartime is "friendly fire," when, for a variety of reasons, soldiers fire on their own, or on their allies. The regrettable shooting at the wrong target happens often enough to have earned a category of its own, with a sadly ironic name.

On January 1, 2024, Yonah Jeremy Bob of The Jerusalem Post reported IDF figures for deaths due to friendly fire and accidents in 2023:"Around 17% of soldiers' war-related deaths since around the end of October and the invasion of Gaza have been accidents.Some of these accidents have been "friendly fire" incidents, while some have been tanks driving over soldiers they did not see or cables, walls falling on soldiers, or errors with explosives during demolition preparations against Hamas.In absolute numbers, 29 out of 170 killed soldiers have been from mistakes in the field. Bob continues, "Most of the dead are from the Gaza invasion, including two, three, six, and four per week from October 29 – November 25 20."To our sorrow, in this war as in others, unintended deaths of brothers and friends, even those wearing the same uniform, are tragically common. Perhaps the most painful incident in this war was the friendly fire killing of Israeli hostages who emerged from Hamas captivity carrying white flags. The soldiers who saw them had just experienced booby traps and other deceptions, including hearing the sounds of a baby crying, which turned out to be a recording designed to lure them into an ambush. They thought the hostages' appearance was a similar trap… so they fired.

The "recency effect"

WHAT PSYCHOLOGISTS call "the recency effect" – giving too much weight to recent events – can distort one's perception of reality and influence decision-making. This is especially true when making a split-second...