Israel 'using Gazans as human shields' to explore rigged buildings and tunnels

Israeli outlet Haaretz reported accounts from soldiers returning from the Gaza War of the practice, which was deemed illegal in 2005

Israeli soldiers' accounts of the use of human shields in Gaza were reported by Haaretz. Getty

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Israel’s military is using Gazan civilians as human shields to investigate structures suspected of being boobytrapped, Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported.

The newspaper's investigation relied on accounts from multiple Israeli soldiers returning from across the Gaza Strip, who said they saw the military regularly sending in civilians to carry out the dangerous tasks.

The Palestinians used for the inspections, often dressed in Israeli military uniforms with cuffed hands, are not suspected of offences. While most were young men, they also included the elderly and people under the age of 18, the report said.

“Our lives are more important than their lives,” soldiers quoted in the report were told. One said a commander asked them: “You don't agree that the lives of your friends are much more important than their lives? And isn't it better that our friends will live and not be blown up by an explosive device, and that they get blown up by an explosive device?”

The report said that senior ranks were aware of the practice. However, the Israeli military told Haaretz: “Instructions and orders prohibit the use of Gazan civilians caught in the field for military missions that pose a deliberate risk to their lives. The [military’s] instructions and orders on the subject have been made clear to the forces. Upon receipt of the request, the allegations were forwarded to the relevant authorities for review.”

Soldiers described a regular pattern of a human shield entering a house or tunnel thought to be rigged 10 minutes before troops went in.

“People began to ask questions, very quickly a mess began about this procedure,” one source said. “Some argued that they weren't willing to carry out operations if it included a Gazan who was forced to sacrifice himself. Of course, there were those who supported it, but at least with us there were just a few of them, mostly the commanders who were afraid to deal with the more senior commanders.”

Mujahed Abbadeh, who the Israeli military strapped to the front of a military vehicle, in the Ibn Sina Specialised Hospital in Jenin. Willy Lowry / The National

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the use of human shields was illegal, after rights groups raised the issue following the military employing the practice during the second intifada.

Despite this, Israeli troops have been accused of using human shields in the occupied West Bank multiple times since October 7.

Troops strapped a man to a military vehicle during a raid on Tulkarm refugee camp at the end of July, Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported.

The National spoke to vegetable seller Mujahed Abbadeh who was also tied to the bonnet of a military vehicle during an Israeli operation in Jenin in June, an incident caught on video that sparked global outrage.

“They committed a criminal act against me. They acted against me in a horrendous manner … I’m on nobody's list. I told them to check me and they checked me and still they mistreated me,” Mr Abbadeh said.