During Operation Cast Lead, there were specific operations. We participated in two operations of intentional entry into a neighborhood. We had to reach a neighborhood that was south of us because RPG resistance fire was anticipated. We drove south and opened fire like crazy.

As cover? Yes, our company with infantry inside the tanks and the recon unit on the lookout. We were supposed to get down there and open fire at that neighborhood, and if we encountered fire, to take care of that. The infantry guys were supposed to disembark, lay mines or explosive charges, and get back into the tanks. There I shot at things that seemed suspicious. Once, I thought I saw a terrorist, and to this day I have no idea what it was: while driving, we saw someone walking bent over among the bushes, a few hundred meters from us. Of course, during an operation, the rules of engagement go back to what they were in the beginning, because we’re pretty exposed. We fired the machine-gun quite a lot and didn't see him any more.

Were there other people there? Hadn't everyone run away? You see people there at about a one kilometer range, but tanks detect up to three kilometers away, too, so we saw a gathering of people about 2.5 kilometers away and even then we were told that was not okay, that they’ve already understood what the borderline is and whoever gets within a few hundred meters from the tank is to be shot. It was clear that if anyone got close, it was a terrorist.

What did you do about that gathering? Fired some 0.5 rounds, I remember that they hit a building about three meters above the people, and they all ran off.

To get back to the phosphorus, did you fire it during those operations? The second operation, at Sheikh Dohdoh, it was further north, we really went into a neighborhood and had a very specific mission there. There was an intelligence headquarters there and we had to take it down. The battalion commanders were fighting for us to actually do something in that operation. There was a problem there with advancing, the D-9 [bulldozers] hadn’t managed to destroy a certain building, so we stayed there and rained fire on the whole neighborhood, lots of fire, phosphorus, illumination [shells].

How many phosphorus shells? Two or three. One fell on a building, another on an orchard and started a fire, and the third somewhere else, we don't know what happened to it.

Were there people in the area? Nothing. A huge neighborhood, tall buildings. We saw no movement there.

How much phosphorus do you estimate that your company fired throughout the entire operation? Twenty [shells].

What’s the point of firing phosphorus shells? Have you seen the effect? What does it look like? It's not too crazy, it just starts a fire… It's terrible stuff, if it hits a person. But there were no people there, so if it hits a building, there's not too much harm done.

You said you fired phosphorus at places where you hoped there were no people. Yes, we fired in directions where it was clear that there were no civilians. Then we were alerted about four suspect buildings, which were known to be booby-trapped because the naval commando had been there and verified that the buildings mustn't be entered because they were all booby-trapped, and they told us to destroy the buildings as well. We were there for a few hours and simply fired at those buildings. We destroyed them with shells and anything we had. We caused a lot of damage and I felt we were 'reshaping' Gaza. But we didn't take down too much. There were encounters.

What kind? My crew didn't run into anything, but I had a friend who fired at a motorcyclist who was driving in our direction. It was more than enough to understand that he wasn’t supposed to be there, we had just got an alert about suicide motorcyclists in the area. Perhaps he wasn’t a suicide bomber, but an order is an order. …

Were there briefings or debriefings once you were out of there? At the end of the operation, some guys came from information security and said that everything we’d seen – not to tell anyone. They know we’ll talk to our families and friends, but not on the Internet and stuff like that. Of course, the infantry guys got off a day before we did and had a week's leave. Tank crews – let’s go, tanks. Maintenance, repairs, oiling, battalion commander inspection, brigade commander inspection – they said we might go in again and that the tanks have to be operational again as soon as possible.

You weren’t debriefed? No.