Israeli use of Palestinian human shields in Gaza is widespread, detainees say

Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen, Israeli soldiers and former detainees have said.

They claimed the practice has become ubiquitous over 19 months of war.

Israel’s military responded by saying it prohibits using civilians as shields, a practice it has long accused Hamas of using.

Chiefs say they are investigating a handful of cases, but would not provide any details.

Seven Palestinians described to The Associated Press being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. One said he was beaten, bound and blindfolded.

Two Israeli solders also described using human shields, and that derogatory terms like “mosquito” were used to refer to the Palestinians.

One Palestinian man, Ayman Abu Hamadan, told the Associated Press that when he was detained in northern Gaza last year, the only time he was not bound or blindfolded was when he was used by Israeli soldiers as their human shield.

Dressed in army fatigues with a camera fixed to his forehead, the 36-year-old was forced into houses in the Gaza Strip to make sure they were clear of bombs and gunmen, he said.

When one unit finished with him, he was passed to the next.

“They beat me and told me: ‘You have no other option; do this or we’ll kill you,'” he said, describing the two and a half weeks he was held last summer by the Israeli military in northern Gaza.

One Israeli officer said that orders often came from the top, and at times nearly every platoon used a Palestinian to clear locations.

Several Palestinians and soldiers told the AP that Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. The dangerous practice has become ubiquitous during 19 months of war, they said.

The Israeli military has long accused Hamas of using human shields in Gaza. Israeli officials blame the militants for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

In a statement to the AP, the military said it also bans otherwise coercing civilians to participate in operations, and “all such orders are routinely emphasised to the forces”.

The AP spoke with seven Palestinians who described being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and with two members of Israel’s military who said they engaged in the practice, which is prohibited by international law. Rights groups have warned that this has become standard procedure in the war.

“These are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse,” said Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence – a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers that has collected testimonies about the practice from within the military.

“Israel rightly condemns Hamas for using civilians as human shields, but our own soldiers describe doing the very same.”

Mr Abu Hamadan said he was detained in August after being separated from his family, and soldiers told him he’d help with a “special mission”.

He was forced, for 17 days, to search houses and inspect every hole in the ground for tunnels, he said.

Soldiers stood behind him and, once it was clear, entered the buildings to damage or destroy them, he said. He spent each night bound in a dark room, only to wake up and do it again.

Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. Experts say this war is the first time in decades that the practice – and the debate around it – has been so widespread.

The two Israeli soldiers who spoke to the AP – and a third who provided testimony to Breaking the Silence – said commanders were aware of the use of human shields and tolerated it, with some giving orders to do so. Some said it was referred to as the “mosquito protocol”, and that Palestinians were also referred to as “wasps” and other dehumanising terms.

The soldiers – who said they are no longer serving in Gaza – said the practice sped up operations, saved ammunition, and spared combat dogs from injury or death.

The soldiers said they first became aware human shields were being used shortly after the war erupted on October 7 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, and that it became widespread by the middle of 2024.

Orders to “bring a mosquito” often came via radio, they said – shorthand everyone understood. Soldiers acted on commanding officers’ orders, according to the officer who spoke to the AP.

He said that by the end of his nine months in Gaza, every infantry unit used a Palestinian to clear houses before entering.

“Once this idea was initiated, it caught on like fire in a field,” the 26-year-old said. “People saw how effective and easy it was.”

One report documented the accidental killing of a Palestinian, he said – troops did not realise another unit was using him as a shield and shot him as he ran into a house. The officer recommended the Palestinians should be dressed in army clothes to avoid misidentification.

He said he knew of at least one other Palestinian who died while he was used as a shield, having passed out in a tunnel.