What were the rules of engagement? If it looks like a man, shoot. It was simple: You’re in a motherfucking combat zone. A few hours before you went in the whole area was bombed, if there’s anyone there who doesn’t clearly look innocent, you apparently need to shoot that person.
Who’s innocent? If you see the person is less than 1.40 meters tall, or if you see it’s a lady. You can tell from far away. If it’s a man you shoot.
Do you take into consideration his distance from the forces, whether he’s armed or not? Yeah, of course. I’m talking about close range. If it’s from far away you have time to figure out what you’re doing. From far you don’t shoot immediately because you have time to report. But what’s a report, it’s just saying, “Commander, two enemies identified 400 meters away, southeast of blah-blah-blah, opening fire.” He responds, “Affirmative.”
Upon entering houses, is there an organized protocol used? It really depends on the case, but generally the idea is to use a lot of fire – this isn’t Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) – you want to find people in pieces inside. That’s how it’s managed, in a nutshell. Besides, usually a D9 (armored bulldozer) comes over, takes down a wall and you enter through the wall.