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Yehuda Vach

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yehuda Vach
Vach in November 2022
Native name
יהודה ואך
Born1979 (age 46–47)
Kiryat Arba, West Bank
Allegiance Israel
Branch
 Israel Defense Forces
Conflicts
    • Lebanon
    • Gaza

Yehuda Vach (Hebrew: יהודה ואך, born 1979), is an Israeli military officer who has served in the Lebanon and Gaza wars. He is also a musician.[1]

Early life and education

Yehuda Vach was born in 1979 in Kiryat Arba, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.[1]

He attended the Bnei David mechina in Eli, another West Bank settlement. The school provides religious as well as paramilitary training in preparation for military service in the IDF.[2][3]

Military service

Date Rank Role
1998 onwards Officer Active Officer
2006 Officer Participant in the Lebanon War
2019 Commander Brigade 769[4]
2021 Colonel Commander Heiram Brigade, Northern Command.[5]
Aug 2021- June 2023 Colonel Commander of Bahad 1, IDF officers' school[6][7]
July 2024 - Dec 2024 Brigadier General Gaza war, Commander of Netzarim Corridor (252nd Div)
August 2024 - Present Brigadier General Gaza war, Commander of 252nd "Sinai" Division[8]

Misconduct

Endangerment of troops

During the period of 17-28 August 2024, Vach ordered his soldiers to enter Zeitoun, a neighborhood of Gaza City, leading to the deaths of 8 soldiers.[9] Vach was accused of "flawed, even negligent, preparation". A commander who fought in the Netzarim corridor under Vach said that "it was done without suitable tools, without engineering units, without other necessary troops". A number of officers and soldiers said that "Vach acted rashly on more than one occasion".[10][11]

Loss of weapons

Vach has been reprimanded twice for the theft of weapons where he was in command. In 2017, he was deputy commander of the Givati Brigade, and was reprimanded after weapons were stolen from the armory of the prison Sde Teiman.[12][13] In 2020, he was again reprimanded after weapons were stolen from Gibor army base.[4][14]

War crimes

Targeting of civilians and indiscriminate fire

During the Gaza war, Vach issued direct orders to fire at civilians gathered near UN aid trucks, even when no threat was present. Soldiers under his command stated this policy was widely followed, with one officer noting the intent was to make people clear out, even if they were only there for food. An officer in Vach’s 252nd division reportedly told Haaretz reported that the killing of Palestinians turned "into a competition between units".[15][16]

The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a case in the ICC, accusing Vach's troops of "gunning down" 15-year-old Yahya Akram Al-Hilu and 16-year-old Muhammad Amer Salouha when they were searching for food.[17][18] The foundation also compared Vach to SS-Oberführer and leader of the Dirlewanger Brigade, Oskar Dirlewanger due to his actions in Gaza.[19]

Haaretz reported on the killing of an unarmed 16-year-old boy by Vach's soldiers. They were told that "the boy wasn't a Hamas operative – but just a civilian" but the battalion commander "congratulated us for killing a terrorist, saying he hoped we'd kill ten more tomorrow". At one point Division 252 announced the killing of 200 militants. An officer there disputed this, saying that only 10 of those were known Hamas personnel.[20]

Massacres of civilians

Vach was the commander of the Golani Brigade unit responsible for the Rafah paramedic massacre on 23 March 2025 when a humanitarian convoy was attacked, the medics killed and buried with their crushed vehicles. The forensics report found that the aid workers were killed at close-range.[21] The dead medics were found with "specific and intentional" bullet wounds in heads and hearts. Some of the bodies were found with their hands or feet bound.[22][23] The IDF said that they had fired on vehicles "advancing suspiciously" without headlights or emergency signals. It said a Hamas operative and "eight other terrorists" were among those killed. A video taken by one of the killed medics forced the IDF to change its account of the incident.[22] Hamas official Basem Naim called the massacre "a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime."[24] An technical investigation by Forensic Architecture confirms that there was no return fire and there was no threat to the IDF soldiers.[25]

Vach issued direct orders to fire at civilians gathered near UN aid trucks, even when no threat was present. Soldiers under his command stated this policy was widely followed, with one officer noting that the intent was to make people clear out, even if they were only there for food. An officer in Vach’s 252nd division told Haaretz that the killing of Palestinians turned "into a competition between units".[26][15]

Destruction of civilian infrastructure

In March 2025, soldiers under Vach's command demolished, through a controlled explosion, the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in central Gaza.[27] At the time the IDF falsely claimed that it was "an airstrike against Hamas operatives who were residing at the hospital", though they also confirmed that the hospital had not been used as a hospital for over a year at the time of destruction.[28] News media reported that the hospital had been used as a barracks by the IDF for some time.[29]

Vach is accused of removing the hospital's designation as a sensitive site and ordering its demolition without approval from superiors.[30] The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Euro-Med Monitor condemned the destruction of the hospital as a war crime.[31]

Operational doctrine

Against defensive self-fortification

Vach published an article in the October 2019 issue of the Dado Center Journal titled "From iron wires to a fortified wall: the fence syndrome and its impact on the IDF",[32][33] which has criticized the doctrine of defensive self-fortification saying that walls seem to project strength but actually project fear. [5] Vach promoted the "territorial imperative", a doctrine that  that security can only be achieved through the physical control of land and the total destruction of the enemy's infrastructure, rather than the management of a border through defensive fortifications and technology.[34][35]

Territorial conquest

In Gaza, Vach has emphasized territorial conquest as the primary objective of military operations. Vach stated that "in the Middle East, victory comes through conquering territory. We must keep conquering until we win." and also wanted the seizure of Palestinian land to serve as a form of punishment for the October 7, 2023 attack.[36][37] An integral part of this conquest was the destruction of all buildings in areas under his command. Engineering units were tasked to "flatten every building" in specific areas. [38]

No innocents

Soon after taking command of 252 Division in July 2024, he reportedly instructed his officers that "there are no innocents in Gaza",[39] echoing President Isaac Herzog's assertion that the "entire nation" of Palestinians was responsible for October 7 and that there were no civilians in Gaza "not involved".[40] This became operational doctrine under Vach, meaning "everyone's a terrorist", which effectively allowed his soldiers permission to kill any Palestinian at will.[41]

Personal life

Vach is the son of Shalom and Liat Vach and has ten brothers. He is married to Osnat, and they have six children. They live in Meirav, a religious kibbutz in northern Israel.[1] His brother, Golan Vach, also serves as a Colonel in the IDF reserves, and was involved in the beheaded babies hoax. Golan was later injured by a tunnel collapse in the Netzarim Corridor while he headed "a small dubious unit", under his brother Yehuda's command, destroying civilian buildings in Gaza.[7][42][43]

Their younger brother Elishev Wach, a captain in the IDF reserves, led protests outside Defense Minister Yoav Galant's house to promote greater intensity and "total war", after Golan was trapped in the tunnel collapse. [44]

References

  1. 1 2 3 פינקלר, קובי. "מפקד חדש לבית הספר לקצינים - אל"מ יהודה ואך" [New Commander of the Officers' School - Col. Yehuda Vach]. ערוץ 7 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  2. ↑ Pileggi, Tamar (30 April 2019). "Embracing racism, rabbis at pre-army yeshiva laud Hitler, urge enslaving Arabs". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Archived from the original on 26 June 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Cypel, Sylvain (10 February 2025). "Israël. L'armée coloniale à l'heure du messianisme". Orient XXI (in French). Archived from the original on 19 November 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 "The Vach brothers: Israel's first family of genocide". Lemkin Institute. 29 April 2025. Archived from the original on 10 February 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 Jager, Avi (2021). "The Transformation of the Israel Defense Forces". Naval War College Review. 74 (2): 13–36. ISSN 0028-1484.
  6. ↑ פינקלר, קובי. "מפקד חדש לבית הספר לקצינים - אל"מ יהודה ואך" [New commander of the Officers' School - Col. Yehuda Vach]. ערוץ 7 (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 29 June 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Report: Soldiers allege division commander recklessly endangered troops in Gaza". The Times of Israel. 1 January 2025. ISSN 0040-7909. Archived from the original on 25 October 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  8. ↑ Kubovich, Yaniv (18 December 2024). "'No Civilians. Everyone's a Terrorist': IDF Soldiers Expose Arbitrary Killings and Rampant Lawlessness in Gaza's Netzarim Corridor". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 6 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Report: Soldiers allege division commander recklessly endangered troops in Gaza". The Times of Israel. 1 January 2025. ISSN 0040-7909. Archived from the original on 25 October 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "'Flatten' Gaza, halt aid: The commander overseeing Gaza's brutal Netzarim corridor". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 24 May 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Vach's private army: The growing gap between the IDF and rogue commanders | Editorial". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 24 May 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Levy, Elior (21 August 2017). "Givati Brigade commander to be reprimanded after mass M-16 theft". Ynetglobal. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "מפקד המכלול הודח, שורת קצינים ננזפו ושונו הנחיות קליטת עובדי קבלן" [The commander of the complex was removed, a number of officers were reprimanded, and guidelines for the absorption of contractor workers were changed.]. IDF. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "צעדים משמעתיים בעקבות גניבת כלי נשק מבסיס בצפון" [Disciplinary measures following the theft of weapons from a base in the north]. www.idf.il. 8 December 2020. Archived from the original on 29 March 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  15. 1 2 Yaniv, Kubovich (19 December 2024). "IDF Is Not Updating List of Gaza Targets, Resulting in Killing Innocent Civilians Seeking Shelter". Haaretz.
  16. ↑ "Israeli soldiers deliberately shoot at unarmed Gazans near aid sites: Report". Anadolu (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 1 July 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "Hind Rajab Foundation files complaint with the ICC against Israeli brigadier general". Dawn. 28 June 2025. Archived from the original on 27 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "ICC Complaint and Calls for Immediate Arrest of Brigadier General Yehud Vach". THE HIND RAJAB FOUNDATION. 8 February 2025. Archived from the original on 11 February 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "La Fondation Hind Rajab demande l'arrestation du criminel de guerre Yehuda Vach". Palestine Chronicle (in French). 17 February 2025. Archived from the original on 7 October 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  20. ↑ Kubovich, Yaniv (18 December 2024). "'No Civilians. Everyone's a Terrorist': IDF Soldiers Expose Arbitrary Killings and Rampant Lawlessness in Gaza's Netzarim Corridor". Archived from the original on 6 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "Israelis fired over 900 bullets in Gaza medics' massacre". Dawn. 25 February 2026. Archived from the original on 11 July 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  22. 1 2 Fassihi, Farnaz; Koettl, Christoph (5 April 2025). "Video Shows Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Under Gunfire Barrage, With Ambulance Lights On". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 6 November 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Palestinian aid workers likely shot 'execution style', forensic expert says". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 22 April 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Gaza: Red Cross outraged over killing of medics by Israeli forces". www.bbc.com. 31 March 2025. Archived from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "Israeli Executions of Palestinian Aid Workers and Efforts to Conceal Evidence: Tel al-Sultan, Gaza Strip, 23 march 2025" (PDF). forensic-architecture.org. 23 February 2026. Archived from the original on 24 February 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "International human rights groups label Gaza war a genocide". The New Arab. 19 December 2024. Archived from the original on 31 March 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  27. ↑ Burki, Talha (1 May 2025). "Destruction of Gaza's only cancer specialist hospital". The Lancet Oncology. 26 (5): 551. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00192-5. ISSN 1470-2045. PMID 40158512.
  28. ↑ Fabian, Emanuel (21 March 2025). "IDF confirms it blew up Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza, says it wasn't in use". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  29. ↑ Fabian, Emanuel (21 March 2025). "IDF confirms it blew up Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza, says it wasn't in use". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  30. ↑ Kubovich, Yaniv (24 March 2025). "IDF Investigating if Commander Demolished Nonfunctioning Hospital in Gaza Without Authorization". Archived from the original on 24 March 2025.
  31. ↑ "Israel's Targeting and Disabling of Gaza Hospitals: Dismantling Life and Destroying "Last Refuges" [EN/AR] - occupied Palestinian territory". ReliefWeb. Archived from the original on 28 June 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  32. ↑ Yehuda Vach, “From Metal Strings to a Fortified Wall: Israel’s Fence Syndrome and Its Impact on the IDF,” IDF Journal Bein-Haktavim, no. 22/23 (2019), pp. 165–81.
  33. ↑ Col. Yehuda, Vach (1 October 2019). "מחוטי ברזל לחומה בצורה: "תסמונת הגדר" בגבולות ישראל והשפעתה על צה"ל" [From barbed wire to a wall in shape: "The Fence Syndrome" on Israel's borders and its impact on the IDF]. www.idf.il (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 27 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  34. ↑ Hussain, Hamid (8 November 2023). "Change Before You Have to". Defence Journal.
  35. ↑ Rosen-Birch, James (20 May 2024). "How Changes in the Israeli Military Led to the Failure of October 7". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  36. ↑ "Israeli general's 'contempt for human life' led to widespread deaths in Gaza". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  37. ↑ Shehada, Muhammad (1 July 2025). "'Death traps': How Israeli massacres at GHF sites in Gaza are deliberate policy". The New Arab.
  38. ↑ "'Flatten' Gaza, halt aid: The commander overseeing Gaza's brutal Netzarim corridor". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 24 May 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  39. ↑ Kubovich, Yaniv (18 December 2024). "IDF soldiers expose arbitrary killings and rampant lawlessness in Gaza's Netzarim corridor". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 26 May 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  40. ↑ Bronner, Luc (21 May 2025). "In Israel, rhetoric dehumanizing Palestinians and calls for eradicating Gaza have become commonplace". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 14 April 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  41. ↑ "Israel media report accuses troops of indiscriminate killing of Gaza civilians". France 24. 20 December 2024. Archived from the original on 29 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  42. ↑ "Israeli officer says he found baby beheaded in Hamas attack". France 24. 27 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  43. ↑ Zitun, Yoav (10 September 2024). "IDF officer known for pulling people out of earthquake rubble seriously injured in Gaza tunnel collapse". Ynetglobal. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  44. ↑ ""תנצח או תתפטר": קצינים ומשפחות שכולות הפגינו מול בית גלנט" ["Win or resign": Officers and bereaved families protest in front of the Galant's House]. מקור ראשון (in Hebrew). 11 September 2024. Archived from the original on 1 December 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
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