Man israel’s journalism is off the chain last few weeks, absolute respect for them for investigating all these criminal actions by there government.
Thats what journalism is about, truth.
full article ↓
_IDF says it is reviewing the allegations_
#Report: IDF using Gazans to check areas that may be booby-trapped before troops enter
Soldiers tell Israeli newspaper that commanders send Palestinian civilians into tunnels and buildings they fear are rigged, claim chief of staff and top brass aware of practice
By ToI Staff
Israel Defense Force troops operating in Gaza have been using Palestinian civilians as human shields, forcing them to enter tunnels and homes ahead of soldiers due to fears that the structures may be rigged with traps, the Haaretz daily reported on Tuesday.
The IDF said it was reviewing the allegations.
According to the report, which cited testimonies obtained from returning IDF soldiers who have regularly witnessed use of the tactic, troops have on multiple occasions scouted out Gazan civilians who they believe will be an asset to them while operating against Hamas in dense urban areas.
In most, the “recruited” Palestinians are adult men, the report stated, although soldiers also recounted instances in which elderly men or teenagers were selected. The men are not terror suspects, but are detained specifically to be sent into buildings and tunnels that troops believe may be booby-trapped.
“It is better that they explode and not the soldiers,” a soldier quoted in the report recalled being told by his commander, who he said had justified the practice. Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address By signing up, you agree to the terms
The Palestinian men are told that they’ll be released after completing one “mission,” another soldier recounted. He said that the Palestinians were kept with the troops for varying lengths of time, ranging from one or two days to a week.
The newspaper alleged this practice has been widely employed across the Gaza Strip in recent months, and that senior IDF staff — including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi — were aware.
The IDF knows “that it’s not a one-time incident of a young and stupid commander who decides to take someone of his own accord,” one of the soldiers said. A Hamas tunnel in the central Gaza Strip, in a handout image published by the military on February 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Meanwhile, troops serving under commanders who decided to test out this method told Haaretz that they were not always aware of the true identities of these men.
One of the soldiers recalled an incident in which a man he didn’t know joined their team, wearing an IDF uniform but with sneakers instead of combat boots, and without a protective vest.
The soldiers were instructed to guard him at all times, the soldier said, and the reason for his presence wasn’t made clear to them until a day later, when they were required to enter a tunnel inside a combat zone. The Palestinian man was sent in ahead of them while the commander tracked his movements via the bodycam feed, according to the soldier.
“We could hear deep breathing, it sounded like he was a bit scared,” a soldier who watched the footage said. “They simply sent him in and he mapped it out for the commanders, with the brigade commander watching on the outside.” Palestinians walk near destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on July 8, 2024 (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
One soldier said he was charged with guarding a 16-year-old Palestinian teenager ahead of the mission he’d been selected for.
“You keep quiet and try to convince yourself, ‘ok, let’s go, let’s use them,’” the soldier said. “They tried to explain it in a rational way, but at the end of the day, you have a 16-year-old boy sitting inside the house handcuffed, with his eyes covered.”
The soldier added that it wasn’t until the teen was released a few days later that he realized he hadn’t been a terror suspect at all.
An unnamed source from within the IDF Southern Command attested to Haaretz that Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman was aware of the practice.
“In every meeting at which the issue was raised, there were commanders who warned about the ethical and legal implications,” the source said, adding that some officers had asked to leave the meetings when the matter was raised rather than be party to the conversation.
In its response to the allegations, the IDF did not appear to deny employing the practice amid fighting in Gaza, where Israeli forces have been engaged in a 10-month-long war with Hamas following the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel.
“IDF 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 said in its response, adding the allegations laid out in the report “were forwarded to the relevant authorities for review.”
The use of human shields is considered a war crime under international law. It is characterized by the International Criminal Court as “utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations.”
The IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas operatives in Gaza of hiding among the Palestinian civilian population and using them as human shields.
War erupted between Israel and Hamas in Gaza following the terror group’s invasion of southern Israel on October 7, during which it killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, 111 of whom are believed to still be held in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 39,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 332.
now it has been confirmed we can add it to the list of israel’s War Crimes
>(xv) Compelling the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they were in the belligerent’s service before the commencement of the war;
this means israel has violated EVERY Rome Statute but 1 [child soldiers]
Mild shock. Human shields have been used historically by Israel. They just always try to claim others do so as a way to shut down accusations and proof against them
4 comments
Man israel’s journalism is off the chain last few weeks, absolute respect for them for investigating all these criminal actions by there government.
Thats what journalism is about, truth.
full article ↓
_IDF says it is reviewing the allegations_
#Report: IDF using Gazans to check areas that may be booby-trapped before troops enter
Soldiers tell Israeli newspaper that commanders send Palestinian civilians into tunnels and buildings they fear are rigged, claim chief of staff and top brass aware of practice
By ToI Staff
Israel Defense Force troops operating in Gaza have been using Palestinian civilians as human shields, forcing them to enter tunnels and homes ahead of soldiers due to fears that the structures may be rigged with traps, the Haaretz daily reported on Tuesday.
The IDF said it was reviewing the allegations.
According to the report, which cited testimonies obtained from returning IDF soldiers who have regularly witnessed use of the tactic, troops have on multiple occasions scouted out Gazan civilians who they believe will be an asset to them while operating against Hamas in dense urban areas.
In most, the “recruited” Palestinians are adult men, the report stated, although soldiers also recounted instances in which elderly men or teenagers were selected. The men are not terror suspects, but are detained specifically to be sent into buildings and tunnels that troops believe may be booby-trapped.
“It is better that they explode and not the soldiers,” a soldier quoted in the report recalled being told by his commander, who he said had justified the practice.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Newsletter email address
By signing up, you agree to the terms
The Palestinian men are told that they’ll be released after completing one “mission,” another soldier recounted. He said that the Palestinians were kept with the troops for varying lengths of time, ranging from one or two days to a week.
The newspaper alleged this practice has been widely employed across the Gaza Strip in recent months, and that senior IDF staff — including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi — were aware.
The IDF knows “that it’s not a one-time incident of a young and stupid commander who decides to take someone of his own accord,” one of the soldiers said.
A Hamas tunnel in the central Gaza Strip, in a handout image published by the military on February 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Meanwhile, troops serving under commanders who decided to test out this method told Haaretz that they were not always aware of the true identities of these men.
One of the soldiers recalled an incident in which a man he didn’t know joined their team, wearing an IDF uniform but with sneakers instead of combat boots, and without a protective vest.
The soldiers were instructed to guard him at all times, the soldier said, and the reason for his presence wasn’t made clear to them until a day later, when they were required to enter a tunnel inside a combat zone. The Palestinian man was sent in ahead of them while the commander tracked his movements via the bodycam feed, according to the soldier.
“We could hear deep breathing, it sounded like he was a bit scared,” a soldier who watched the footage said. “They simply sent him in and he mapped it out for the commanders, with the brigade commander watching on the outside.”
Palestinians walk near destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on July 8, 2024 (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
One soldier said he was charged with guarding a 16-year-old Palestinian teenager ahead of the mission he’d been selected for.
“You keep quiet and try to convince yourself, ‘ok, let’s go, let’s use them,’” the soldier said. “They tried to explain it in a rational way, but at the end of the day, you have a 16-year-old boy sitting inside the house handcuffed, with his eyes covered.”
The soldier added that it wasn’t until the teen was released a few days later that he realized he hadn’t been a terror suspect at all.
An unnamed source from within the IDF Southern Command attested to Haaretz that Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman was aware of the practice.
“In every meeting at which the issue was raised, there were commanders who warned about the ethical and legal implications,” the source said, adding that some officers had asked to leave the meetings when the matter was raised rather than be party to the conversation.
In its response to the allegations, the IDF did not appear to deny employing the practice amid fighting in Gaza, where Israeli forces have been engaged in a 10-month-long war with Hamas following the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel.
“IDF 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 said in its response, adding the allegations laid out in the report “were forwarded to the relevant authorities for review.”
The use of human shields is considered a war crime under international law. It is characterized by the International Criminal Court as “utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations.”
The IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas operatives in Gaza of hiding among the Palestinian civilian population and using them as human shields.
War erupted between Israel and Hamas in Gaza following the terror group’s invasion of southern Israel on October 7, during which it killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, 111 of whom are believed to still be held in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 39,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 332.
now it has been confirmed we can add it to the list of israel’s War Crimes
[Rome Statute article 8 -2 b.](https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf)
>(xv) Compelling the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they were in the belligerent’s service before the commencement of the war;
this means israel has violated EVERY Rome Statute but 1 [child soldiers]
Mild shock. Human shields have been used historically by Israel. They just always try to claim others do so as a way to shut down accusations and proof against them