The use of Israel of human shields in Gaza was systemic, soldiers and former prisoners told AP. world News

Tel Aviv: After binding or blindfolding the Palestinian man only once, he said, when he was used as his human shield by Israeli soldiers.He said that the army tired with a camera fixed on his forehead, Ayman Abu Hamadan was forced into homes in the Gaza Strip to ensure that they were clear from bombs and gunmen. When a unit ended with him, he was passed in the next.The 36 -year -old told the Associated Press, “They defeated me and told me: ‘You don’t have any other option; do this or we will kill you,”Orders often come from above, and sometimes almost every platoon used a Palestinian, an Israeli official said, an Israeli official said on the condition of anonymity not to print the name for fear of vengeance.Many Palestinians and soldiers told AP that Israeli soldiers were systematically forced to act as a human shield in Gaza, sending them to buildings and tunnels to investigate explosives or terrorists. During the 19 months of the war, the dangerous practice has become omnipresent, he said.In response to these allegations, the Israeli army says it strictly prohibits the use of citizens as a shield – an exercise has long accused Hamas of using Hamas in Gaza. Israeli officials blamed terrorists for civilians in their aggressive, killing thousands of Palestinians.In a statement to AP, the army said that it also forces citizens to participate in operations, and “all such orders are regularly emphasized on forces.”The army said that it is investigating several cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in the mission, but would not provide details. This did not answer questions about the practice or any order from the commanding officers.The AP spoke with seven Palestinians, who were used in Gaza and occupied West Bank and with two members of Israel’s army, who said they are engaged in practice, which is prohibited by international law. Rights group alarms are ringing, saying that it has become a rapid standard process used in war.“They do not have isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a frightening moral collapse,” Nadav Vemon, Executive Director of Breaking the Silence, said – A whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers has collected testimony about practice from within the army. “Israel condemned Hamas to use citizens as a human shield, but our own soldiers described the same.”Abu Hamadan said he was detained after separating from his family in August, and the soldiers told him that he would help with “special missions”. He was forced to search for 17 days, to search for houses and inspect every hole in the ground for tunnels.He said that the soldiers were standing behind him and once it became clear, entered buildings to harm or destroy them. They tied in a dark room every night, spent only to wake up and again.Use of Human Shields ‘Fire -like fire’ rights groups say that Israel has used Palestinians as a shield in Gaza and West Bank for decades. The Supreme Court canceled the practice in 2005. But the groups continued to document the violation.Nevertheless, experts say that this war is the first practice in decades – and has been so widespread debate around it.Two Israeli soldiers who spoke to AP – and a third one who had testified to break the silence – said that commanders knew about the use of human shield and tolerated it, ordered to do something like this. Some said that it was referred to as a “mosquito protocol” and Palestinians were also referred to as “wasp” and other inhuman words.Soldiers – who said that they are no longer serving in Gaza – said that this practice extended operations, saved the olfactory, and spared the dogs fighting or death.The troops said that they have become aware for the first time, human shields were being used after the war on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, and it became widespread by mid -2024. “Orders to bring a mosquito” often come through radio, he said – Shorthand everyone understood. According to an official talking to AP, the soldiers worked on the orders of the commanding officers.He said that by the end of its nine months in Gaza, every infantry unit used a Palestinian to clean the houses before entering.“Once the idea started, it was caught like a fire in a field,” said 26 -year -old. “People saw how effective and easy it was.”He described the 2024 plan meeting, where a brigade commander read a slide to the division commander “Gate a mosquito” and a suggestion that they could “catch one on the streets.”He said that the officer wrote two events reports to the brigade commander, giving details of the use of the human shield, the report that was extended to the division chief, said. The army said that it was not a comment when it was asked if they had received it.A report was documented for the accidental murder of a Palestinian, he said – soldiers did not realize that another unit was using him as a shield and shot him while running into a house. The official recommended that the Palestinians wore army clothes to avoid incorrect identity.He said that he knew at least at least another Palestinian, who died using as a shield – he came out in a tunnel.The soldiers unsuccessfully pushed back, an Sergeant says that assuring soldiers to operate lawfully. When they see their enemy using suspicious practices, the American Military Academy said Michael Schmidit, a distinguished professor of international law at the American Military Academy at West Point. Israeli authorities and other obs“This is really a heavy lift to see your own soldiers and say you have to comply,” Schmit said.A soldier told AP that his unit tried to refuse to use the human shield in mid-2010, but he was told that he had no alternative, a high-ranking officer said he should not worry about the international human law.Speaking on the condition of anonymity not printing the name of The Sergeant Fatkar, the soldiers said that the soldiers used a 16-year-old and 30-year-old child for a few days.The boy continued to move, he said, and both repeated “Rafa, Rafa” – the southern city of Gaza, where more than 1 million Palestinians participated in the war from fighting elsewhere at that time.It seemed that he was begging to beg, Sergeant said.‘I have children,’ a person says Masoud Abu Saeed said that he was used as a shield in the southern city of Khan Younis for two weeks in March 2024.“It’s extremely dangerous,” he said telling a soldier. “I have children and want to join them again.”The 36 -year -old said he was forced into homes, buildings and a hospital to dig suspicious tunnels and clear areas. He said that he wore a first-north vest for easy identity to carry a phone, hammer and chain cutter.During an operation, he hit his brother, used as a shield by another unit, he said.They hugged. “I felt that the Israeli army had killed him,” he said.Palestinians are being used as a shield in the West Bank.Hazar Estity said that the soldiers took home to their Genin refugee camp in November, forcing them to film inside many apartments and cleaned the soldiers before entering them.He said that he pleaded to return to his 21 -month -old son, but the soldiers did not listen.“I was most afraid of they would kill me,” he said. “And I will not see my son again.”