Israeli military brutality is a very common reality in the lives of Palestinians. They have a long history of torture, sexual violence against detainees, unlawful imprisonment, mass killings of civilians, the incarceration of children, and the deliberate use of Palestinians as human shields. However, it is important to shed some light on its systemic use of Palestinians as human shields. It is not some kind of isolated incident, and it is no longer a secret; it is a fact. But why have the international leaders remained silent on these vicious war crimes for decades? If not in the face of genocide, when will the world speak out against these violations of international law and hold Israel accountable?
A recent investigation by the Associated Press (AP) reveals the Israeli army has been using Palestinians as human shields in the Gaza genocide. The investigation involves both Palestinian detainees and Israeli soldiers. Several Palestinian detainees confirmed the horrific truth. But more importantly, a few Israeli soldiers have also confessed to this already public truth.
The investigation report says the Israeli military has been using Palestinian civilians as human shields during its military operations in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Seven Palestinian detainees reported that “the Israeli military forced them to enter potentially dangerous buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or armed fighters”. AP also interviewed several Israeli soldiers, and two of them confessed that they had been using Palestinians as human shields during their service. The Israeli soldier’s confession suggests that this practice is more frequent and deliberate than it is reported by the news outlets and rights organizations, at least over the course of the 19-month-long genocide in Gaza.
That is not it, they don’t just force civilians into dangerous buildings—several reports from women’s and children’s rights organizations indicate that the IDF has used women and children as human shields as well, placing them in front of tanks, military vehicles, and in other life-threatening situations. We have also seen images, Palestinians tied to Israeli military vehicles while raiding an area. These are very disturbing events that anyone feels in their stomach.
This horrific and cowardly military tactic is not only being conducted now; the Israeli military has been practicing this for decades, and it was so frequent that the Supreme Court of Israel had to prohibit the practice in 2005. However, the Israeli army never stopped using Palestinians as human shields, and this practice has become more common during the Gaza Genocide, as human rights organizations continue to document instances of its use in subsequent years.
As I said earlier, it is not an isolated incident, it is very common. AP is not the only news media to reveal this dark truth of the Israeli brutality. Several media outlets and human rights organizations revealed the same truth, including Israeli Magazines and newspapers, so there is no way anyone can deny this dark truth.
October 14, last year New York Times—considered to be one of the pro-Israel media outlets—published an article with the title, How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza. They also revealed that,
“Israeli soldiers and Palestinian former detainees say troops have regularly forced captured Gazans to carry out life-threatening tasks, including inside Hamas tunnels.”
On March 26, 2025, CBS News published an article with a similar case, with a title, “Israeli soldier tells CBS News he was ordered to use Palestinians as human shields in Gaza.” CBS, during their investigation, interviewed an IDF soldier and asked about their military’s tactics. In response, the soldier revealed,
“They were Palestinian,” he said. “We sent them in first to see if the building was clear and check for booby traps…They were trembling and shaking.”
He also revealed that,
“We talked to our commander, and we asked him to stop doing it,” Tommy said. He told CBS News it was policy.
In that same article, CBS also revealed that Breaking the Silence, an Israeli military whistleblower organization composed of former soldiers, revealed to them, the practice has a name, “Mosquito Protocol,” further confirming the protocol was widespread in Gaza. Breaking the Silence revealed back in January, that the IDF forced two Palestinian to act as a human shield during building clearance—before a Nahal Brigade commander killed him.
Forget about other rights organizations, an Israeli rights organization, B’Tselem, has exposed several times that the Israeli Military has been using Palestinians as Human shields. On 11 November 2017—2 years before the October 7 attack—they revealed that,
“Since the beginning of the occupation in 1967, Israeli security forces have repeatedly used Palestinians in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip as human shields.”
B’Tselem also said,
“Over the years, Israeli security forces have practiced an official policy of using Palestinians as human shields, ordering them to carry out military activities that put their lives in jeopardy. This use of civilians was not an independent initiative by soldiers in the field, but the result of decisions made by senior military officials.”
If we need to include more evidence, the list goes on and on, and we won’t be able to finish this article.
However, no matter how much evidence exists or how many human rights organizations or media outlets publish the report, the Israeli military continues to deny the crimes committed by its soldiers— as lying is their habit. It simply indicates one thing: the Israeli forces have just been following the orders. It is just a systemic act of using Palestinians as human shields. If it was not a systemic act, where is the accountability? If it was not deliberate, why is it so frequent?
Well, a lot of pro-Israeli and genocide enablers will say, the ‘Israeli army is the most moral army in the world’, and they are investigating this particular issue. As it sounds, both of them are equally laughable. You will listen to the same response from the Israeli military as well. In the AP investigation, the Israeli Military stated that it strictly prohibits the use of civilians as human Shields. They have also emphasized that they communicate these rules with the troops consistently, and we are investigating several cases of using Palestinians as Human Shields within the military.
So, in terms of evidence, there is no way to refute that Israel is using Palestinians as human shields. Now, using a civilian as a shield for military operations is a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law and is also considered a war crime, which Israel has clearly committed for decades. This definition is also expressly stated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Despite so much evidence, the international community remains silent on the grievous crimes Israel is committing against the population it has occupied since 1948. Doesn’t it send a message that Israel is above International law? It does.
The international community, including the so-called “champions of human rights,” is conspicuously silent. They have turned into a joke because they are struggling to find their spines against Israel, while it enjoys complete impunity. These leaders—particularly U.S. politicians—are so complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza that they threaten the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister for war crimes. This is the same organization hailed for issuing an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. But when it comes to Palestinian lives, there seems to be a different moral standard—a quiet, complicit shrug.
Germany remains another major ally of Israel, and it has proven, they always stand on the wrong side of history. UK, which stole the land from Palestinians and gave it to a group of European thieves, is nowhere near preventing the mass they have created. Even rich Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan are enabling the genocide indirectly instead of raising their voice. So, who is there to hold Israel accountable for its human rights violations, like using civilians as human shields and the genocide in Gaza?
The hypocritical silence and the spineless act of the international community are not a good sign. By failing to hold Israel accountable, they are not just turning a blind eye to a genocide; they are actively dismantling the legitimacy of international laws. They are sending the oppressed a message that international humanitarian law is not the same for everyone, even in the face of blatant war crimes and genocide.
