The military court sentenced a soldier who put a frog in the microwave and heated it to death, to four months in prison, which he will serve in community service.

The soldier was convicted based on his confession and, in addition, will pay a fine of NIS 1,500 and be demoted to the rank of private.

The incident occurred in March 2023 after the soldier found a frog near his unit's quarters and put it in the microwave for 10 seconds. When his friend told him to stop, the soldier took the frog out of the microwave and discovered that it was dead.

The military court sentence states that "by doing so, the defendant tortured the frog, until he caused its death.”

The sentence continued to say that “Those who are cruel to animals and abuse them are displaying patterns of behavior that will eventually lead them to harm humans as well. Causing suffering of animals is not about animals alone, but rather an expression of human dignity, consideration of the feelings of others, protection of animals, and the sanctity of life in general. The defendant’s behavior is disgusting and must be condemned. The defendant committed the act without any real purpose. He tortured and abused the animal until it suffered irreparably. The cruel act was only stopped because of his friend’s intervention. On the other hand, this is a one-time event, and not ongoing abuse of animals."

The judges considered the fact that the soldier, who had already been released from the IDF, had no criminal record: "He immediately admitted to the crime, saved judicial time and took full responsibility for his actions, while expressing sincere remorse and true sorrow."

The judges also took into account the fact that he had served in the reserves for four months during the Gaza war. "We were impressed that despite the serious act committed by the accused, this was a one-time mishap, and we hope that he has learned his lesson," the judges added.