A group of soldiers who took part in Israel's assault in Gaza say widespread abuses were committed against civilians under "permissive" rules of engagement.
The troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that seemed suspicious and said Palestinians were sometimes used as human shields.
Breaking the Silence, a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered anonymous accounts from 26 soldiers.
Israel denies breaking the laws of war and dismissed the report as hearsay.
The report says testimonies show "the massive and unprecedented blow to the infrastructure and civilians" was a result of Israeli military policy, articulated by the rules of engagement, and encouraged by a belief "the reality of war requires them to shoot and not to ask questions".
One soldier is quoted saying: "The soldiers were made to understand that their lives were the most important, and that there was no way our soldiers would get killed for the sake of leaving civilians the benefit of the doubt."
Another says: "People were not instructed to shoot at everyone they see, but they were told that from a certain distance when they approach a house, no matter who it is - even an old woman - take them down."
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There are some horrible people in the army, some in commanding positions. Having spoken intimately with numerous Israeli soldiers, and not to detract from the important issue of military abuses as raised in the article, I want to add that abuses are few and far between.
The problem seems to be that the Israeli army is willing to overlook such things and those that are then in the position to carry out attrocities can.
So while it may not be every single soldier, it is condoned by the very fact that is is not condemned, weeded out.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
It is condemned and weeded out, but there are activists who will exaggerate and hardliners who will play it down. I don't want to pretend such claims are false, I have no reason to assume that. Some of the soldiers with whom I am familiar served in humanitarian units with which the world does not seem to be familiar, doing their best to enable assistance to the civilian populace. One soldier told me that there were in his unit soldiers - predominantly Russian immigrants many of who wear a cross at the beach and claimed to be Jewish to escape Russia - who would deal roughly with Arabs at checkpoints. My friend was successful in bringing this to the attention of his superiors and ending the practice in that unit, and there are similar tensions in every unit.