A shocking report has sent shockwaves around the world, alleging that Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents used captured Palestinians as human shields in Gaza during the conflict against Hamas. The New York Times conducted an investigation and discovered that throughout the Israel-Hamas war, Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents frequently compelled captured Palestinians to undertake life-threatening reconnaissance missions to protect Israeli soldiers from battlefield risks.
IDF refutes serious allegations
The Israel Defense Forces, however, refuted the report from The New York Times, saying to The Times of Israel that “the orders and instructions of the IDF forbid using civilians in Gaza who were arrested in the field for military missions.”
“The orders and instructions are made clear regularly to soldiers in the field during the war,” it added.
According to the NYT report, although the scope and scale of such operations remain unknown, the practice, which violates both Israeli and international law, has been employed by at least 11 squads in five cities in Gaza, often with the involvement of officers from Israeli intelligence agencies.
Detainees forced to scout Gaza ambushes
Palestinian detainees have been forced to explore locations in Gaza where the Israeli military suspects Hamas militants have set up ambushes or booby traps. Since the beginning of the war last October, the practice has gradually become more prevalent.
Detainees have been compelled to scout and film inside tunnel networks where soldiers believed fighters were still hiding. They have entered buildings rigged with mines to locate hidden explosives. They have been instructed to pick up or move objects like generators and water tanks that Israeli soldiers suspected concealed tunnel entrances or booby traps.
Human shields use ‘routine’ in Gaza
The Times interviewed seven Israeli soldiers who witnessed or participated in the practice, describing it as routine, commonplace, and organised, carried out with substantial logistical support and the knowledge of superiors on the battlefield. Many of them mentioned that officers from Israel’s intelligence agencies often handled and transported the detainees among the squads, a process that required coordination among battalions and the awareness of senior field commanders. Despite serving in different parts of Gaza at different times during the war, the soldiers largely used the same terms to refer to human shields.
Israeli soldiers coerce detainees as human shields, says ex-Israeli officer
The Times also spoke to eight soldiers and officials briefed on the practice, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a military secret. Maj Gen Tamir Hayman, a former chief of military intelligence who is routinely briefed by top military and defence officials on the conduct of the war, confirmed the use of one version of the practice, saying that some detainees had been coerced into entering tunnels while others had volunteered to accompany troops and act as their guides, hoping to gain favour with the military. Additionally, three Palestinians provided on-the-record accounts of being used as human shields.
Israeli military denies violating law on human shields
The Times found no evidence of any detainees being harmed or killed while being used as human shields. In one instance, an Israeli officer was shot and killed after a detainee sent to search a building either failed to detect or report a militant hiding there.
The Israeli military said in a statement that its “directives and guidelines strictly prohibit the use of detained Gaza civilians for military operations.” It added that the accounts of the Palestinian detainees and soldiers interviewed by the Times would be “examined by the relevant authorities.”
International law prohibits the use of civilians or combatants as a shield against attack. It is also illegal to send captured combatants to places where they would be exposed to fire or to force civilians to do anything related to the conduct of military operations.
Sent like a dog to a booby-trapped apartment, says Gaza teen
Mohammed Shubeir, a 17-year-old high school student from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, was detained by Israeli soldiers in early March while hiding with his family. He was held for approximately 10 days before being released without any charges.
According to Shubeir, during his detention, the soldiers used him as a human shield. He was forced to walk through the deserted ruins of his hometown while handcuffed, tasked with searching for explosives allegedly set by Hamas. The soldiers made him walk ahead of them to avoid being blown up themselves.
In one of the damaged buildings, Shubeir abruptly stopped when he noticed a series of wires running along the wall, connected to explosives. “The soldiers sent me like a dog to a booby-trapped apartment,” Shubeir recounted, adding, “I thought these would be the last moments of my life.”