The accusation of the use of human shields is a common theme in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The law of armed conflict requires that warring parties distinguish between combatants and non-combatants–the former may be legitimately killed, and the latter are protected.[1][2] A human shield refers to the placement of a non-combatant in the line of fire, thus preventing the legitimate military objective from being targeted without harming the non-combatant.[1] Hamas,[3] and other Palestinian militant groups,[4] Israel Defense Forces (IDF),[5] and activist groups such as International Solidarity Movement,[6] have all been involved in the use of human shields in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas has been accused of using human shields strategically by NATO,[7][8] the UN,[9] EU,[10] US,[11][12] Israel, and several European countries.[13] This strategy has included launching rockets and positioning military infrastructure in civilian areas, and aimed at exploiting Israel's efforts to minimize civilian casualties and Western public opinion, has been observed in various conflicts, including the 2008, 2014, and 2023 Israel-Hamas wars. Hamas has publicly acknowledged this approach, viewing civilian casualties as both inevitable and beneficial to their cause. Instances like the use of Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital[14][15] for military purposes have been confirmed by the US Pentagon and condemned by US President Joe Biden as a war crime, though Hamas denies these allegations.[16][17][18] This tactic of human shields is seen as a form of 'lawfare', utilizing legal and public platforms to challenge adversaries,[7] and has been offered as an explanation for Israel's attacks on civilian infrastructure.[19][20][21]

Israel has also been accused used human shields, most notably through its "neighbor procedure", which involves forcing Palestinian civilians to expose themselves to harm by walking through suspected booby-trapped buildings or attempting to persuade wanted individuals to surrender themselves to the IDF[22]—a practice that was condemned and prohibited by a 2005 order from the Israeli Supreme Court,[23] though there have been accusations of its employment even after the ruling.[24][25]

Use by Hamas

2008–2009 Gaza War

In 2008, Hamas's Interior Minister, Fathi Hamad, openly acknowledged the use of human shields as a key component of Hamas's strategy.[26][27][28]

During the 2008–2009 Gaza War, the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict ("UNFFMG"), also known as the Goldstone report, accepted the possibility that Hamas launched mortar attacks from the vicinity of a school and from residential homes, sometimes by the threat of force against residents. The report was unable to find specific evidence that civilians whose homes were used for rocket launches were "forced to remain in their houses" but the report repeatedly noted that Gaza residents were "reluctant" to discuss the conduct of Palestinian armed forces due to fear of reprisals.

In a post-invasion analysis of the conflict, Amnesty International stated that "Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups also violated international humanitarian law in their conduct within Gaza. They launched rockets and located military equipment and positions near civilian homes, endangering the lives of the inhabitants by exposing them to the risk of Israeli attacks. They also used empty homes and properties as combat positions during armed confrontations with Israeli forces, exposing the inhabitants of nearby houses to the danger of attacks or of being caught in the crossfire."

Amnesty further stated "However, contrary to repeated allegations by Israeli officials of the use of “human shields”, Amnesty International found no evidence that Hamas or other Palestinian fighters directed the movement of civilians to shield military objectives from attacks. It found no evidence that Hamas or other armed groups forced residents to stay in or around buildings used by fighters, nor that fighters prevented residents from leaving buildings or areas which had been commandeered by militants."[29]

A review article in Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law stated that Israel warned residents to leave by using warnings such as roof knocking and phone calls, and that "Israel asserted that Palestinian civilians who did not abide by the warnings were acting as 'voluntary human shields', and were thus taking part in hostilities and could be targeted as combatants." The article determined this assertion to be unsupportable in international law.[30]

2009 to the 2014 Gaza War

Numerous reports during the war stated that Hamas used human shields. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused Hamas militants of violating international humanitarian law by "locating rockets within schools and hospitals, or even launching these rockets from densely populated areas".[31] The European Union condemned Hamas, and in particular condemned "calls on the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields".[32][33] In a September 2014 interview, a Hamas official acknowledged to Associated Press that the group fired at Israel from civilian areas.[34] He ascribed the practice to "mistakes", but said the group had little option due to the crowded landscape of the Strip, with its dearth of open zones. He denied accusations that rockets were launched "from schools or hospitals when in fact they were fired 200 or 300 meters (yards) away".[34] In a 2014 interview, a Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal said to a CNN interviewer that the group did not use its people as human shields.

In interviews with Gazan refugees, reporters for The Independent and The Guardian concluded it was a "myth" that Hamas forced civilians to stay in areas under attack against their will; many refugees told them they refused to heed the IDF's warnings because even areas Israel had declared safe for refugees had been shelled by its forces.[35][36] The BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen also said he "saw no evidence of Hamas using Palestinians as human shields".[37] An Amnesty International document (dated 25 July 2014) asserts that they do "not have evidence at this point that Palestinian civilians have been intentionally used by Hamas or Palestinian armed groups during the current hostilities to 'shield' specific locations or military personnel or equipment from Israeli attacks".[38] Amnesty International's assessment was that international humanitarian law was clear in that "even if officials or fighters from Hamas or Palestinian armed groups associated with other factions did in fact direct civilians to remain in a specific location in order to shield military objectives from attacks, all of Israel's obligations to protect these civilians would still apply".[38] The human rights group, however, still found that Palestinian factions, as in previous conflicts, launched attacks from civilian areas.[38]

In a televised interview on Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV 8 July 2014, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called upon Gaza civilians on to stay put in areas under fire by Israel,[39][40] prompting accusations from Israel and others – the European Union, for example[32][33] – that Hamas was calling on people to volunteer as "in effect human shields".[41] For Amnesty International, however, Hamas' call may have been "motivated by a desire to avoid further panic" among civilians, considering both the lack of shelters in Gaza and the fact that some civilians who heeded the IDF's warnings had been casualties of Israeli attacks.[42]

During the war, Israel also damaged hospitals,[43] alleging they were concealing "hidden missiles".[44] A team of Finnish journalists from Helsingin Sanomat working at the Gaza Al-Shifa hospital reported seeing rockets fired from near the Al-Shifa hospital.[45][46] However, two Norwegian doctors who have been working at the hospital for decades have denied there was militant presence nearby, saying the last armed man they saw by the building was an Israeli doctor at the time of the First Intifada.[47] The Washington Post described Al-Shifa hospital as a "de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices".[48] Nick Casey of The Wall Street Journal tweeted a photo of a Hamas official using Al-Shifa hospital for media interviews, but later deleted the tweet.[49] French-Palestinian journalist Radjaa Abu Dagg reported being interrogated by an armed Hamas member inside Al-Shifa hospital and ordered to leave Gaza.[50][51][52]

The same organization asserted that "there was ample evidence to indicate that, in defiance of IDF rules, Israeli soldiers had used Palestinian civilians and children as shields to protect themselves" by sending Palestinians into homes where other militants were located and to encourage their surrender.[53][54]

In 2015, The Washington Post said that an Amnesty International report condemned Palestinian militias for storing munitions in, and launching rockets from civilian structures and reported that the launching of attacks and storing of rockets "very near locations where hundreds of displaced civilians were taking shelter."[55][56] The report stated "the available evidence indicates that Palestinian armed groups fired rockets and mortars from residential areas during the July/August 2014 conflict, and that on at least some occasions, projectiles were launched in close proximity to civilian buildings…significant areas within the 365km2 of territory are not residential, and conducting hostilities or launching munitions from these areas presents a lower risk of endangering Palestinian civilians…Palestinian armed groups stored rockets and other munitions in civilian buildings and facilities, including UN schools, during the conflict… storing munitions in civilian buildings or launching attacks from the vicinity of civilian buildings, violate the obligation to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians from the effects of attacks. But they do not necessarily amount to the specific violation of using "human shields" under international humanitarian law, which entails “using the presence (or movements) of civilians or other protected persons to render certain points or areas (or military forces) immune from military operations.”[57] According to Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, "evidence suggesting that a rocket launched by a Palestinian armed group may have caused 13 civilian deaths inside Gaza underscores how indiscriminate these weapons can be and the dreadful consequences of using them". He also stated that "the devastating impact of Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians during the conflict is undeniable, but violations by one side in a conflict can never justify violations by their opponents."[56]

2023 Israel–Hamas War

Hamas reportedly placed its military underground network beneath or near civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, residential buildings etc.; thus using those residing there as human shields against Israeli airstrikes.[58] The use of human shields by Hamas was condemned by the United States.[59] [60] On 27 October, Israel said that Hamas' main operations base in Gaza city is under Shifa Hospital in Gaza city.[61][62] On 13 November 27 European Union nations jointly condemned Hamas for the use of hospitals and civilians as human shields.[63][64]

Use by Israeli forces

According to B'tselem, the IDF repeatedly used Palestinians as human shields. This practice became military policy during the Second Intifada, and was only dropped when Adalah challenged the practice before Israel's High Court of Justice in 2002. However, the IDF persisted in using Palestinians in its 'neighbor procedure', whereby people picked at random were made to approach the houses of suspects and persuade them to surrender, a practice which arguably placed the former's lives in danger. The court ruled in October 2005 "that any use of Palestinian civilians during military actions is forbidden, including the 'prior warning procedure'." According to B'tselem, reports indicate that the practice has continued nonetheless, in military operations like Operation Cast Lead, and Operation Protective Edge, and the "vast majority of these reports were never investigated, and those that did result in no further action".[65] Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini, in their study of the phenomenon, note that Israeli citizens in densely populated areas like Tel Aviv are never spoken of as human shields when Hamas fires rockets towards the Israeli Defense command located in the centre of that city, whereas Palestinians in Gaza are depicted as human shields when Israel fires rockets at, or bombs, equally densely populated cities like Gaza.[66]

Second Intifada

According to Israeli defense officials, the Israel Defense Forces made use of the "human shield" procedure on 1,200 occasions during the Second Intifada (2000–2005), and only on one occasion did a Palestinian civilian get hurt.[67][68]

According to human rights groups Amnesty International[69] and Human Rights Watch,[70] the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used Palestinian civilians as human shields during the 2002 Battle of Jenin. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said that "for a long period of time following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, particularly during Operation Defensive Shield, in April 2002, the IDF systematically used Palestinian civilians as human shields, forcing them to carry out military actions which threatened their lives".[71][72] Al Mezan reported the systematic use of human shields during the invasion of Beit Hanoun in 2004.[73] Human shields were also employed by Israeli soldiers to subdue a stone-throwing protest in Hebron in 2003.[74]

In 2002 the Supreme Court of Israel issued a temporary injunction banning the practice in the wake of the death of 19-year-old Nidal Abu Mohsen, who was shot dead when he was forced by the IDF to knock on the door of his neighbor, Hamas militant Nasser Jarrar, in the West Bank village of Tubas and inform him of the Israeli army's demands that he surrender.[68][75][76]

In 2004, a 13-year-old boy, Muhammed Badwan, was photographed tied to an Israeli police vehicle in the West Bank village of Biddu being used as a shield to deter stone-throwing protesters.[68][77] Rabbi Arik Ascherman was placed under arrest after he tried to intervene.[75]

In 2005, Israel's High Court of Justice banned the practice,[67][78] with the Israeli Defense Ministry appealing the decision.[67][79] While acknowledging and defending the "use of Palestinians to deliver warnings to wanted men about impending arrest operations", a practice known in Israel by the "neighbor procedure",[74] the IDF denied reports of "using Palestinians as human shields against attacks on IDF forces", saying it had already forbidden this practice.[78]

In 2006, however, initial investigations by B'Tselem indicated that the IDF might have used civilians as human shields in 2006 Beit Hanun.[80]

In February 2007, the footage was released of an incident involving Sameh Amira, a 24-year-old Palestinian, whom video showed serving as a human shield for a group of Israeli soldiers, getting inside apartments suspected to belong to Palestinian militants ahead of the soldiers.[81][82] A 15-year-old cousin of Amira and an 11-year-old girl in the West Bank independently told B'Tselem in February 2007 that Israeli soldiers forced each of them in separate incidents to open the door of a neighboring apartment belonging to a suspected militant, get inside ahead of them, and open doors and windows.[83]

The Israeli Army launched a criminal investigation into the incident involving Amira.[81] In April 2007, the Israeli army suspended a commander after the unit he was leading was accused of using Palestinians as human shields in a West Bank operation.[84] In April 2007, CBS News reported that, according to human rights groups, the IDF did not stop the use of human shields, but the incidence was dropping.[71][81]

2008–2009 Gaza War

During the 2008–09 Gaza War known as Operation Cast Lead, Israeli military forces were accused of continuing to use civilians as human shields by Amnesty International and Breaking the Silence.[85] According to testimonies published by these two groups, Israeli forces used unarmed Palestinians including children to protect military positions, walk in front of armed soldiers; go into buildings to check for booby traps or gunmen; and inspect suspicious objects for explosives.[85][86] Amnesty International stated that it found cases in which "Israeli troops forced Palestinians to stay in one room of their home while turning the rest of the house into a base and sniper position, effectively using the families, both adults and children, as human shields and putting them at risk".[87] The UN Human Rights Council also accused Israel of using human shields during the 2008–09 Gaza conflict.[88][89]

The Guardian compiled three videos and testimony from civilians about alleged war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers during the 2008–09 Gaza War, including the use of Palestinian children as human shields. In the videos, three teenage brothers from the al-Attar family said that they were forced at gunpoint to kneel in front of tanks to deter Hamas fighters from firing at them and that they were used to "clear" houses for the Israeli soldiers.[90]

An IDF soldier's testimony for Breaking the Silence told that his commander ordered that for every house raided by the IDF, they send a "neighbor" to go in before the soldier, sometimes while the soldier placed his gun on the neighbor's shoulder;[91] according to the soldier, "commanders said these were the instructions and we had to do it".[91] Gazan civilians also testified of being used at gunpoint as human shields by Israeli soldiers.[92] An Israeli military official responded to these allegations: "The IDF operated in accordance with the rules of war and did the utmost to minimize harm to civilians uninvolved in combat. The IDF's use of weapons conforms to international law." An Israeli embassy spokesperson alleged Hamas pressured the people of Gaza into making those accusations.[90]

On 12 March 2010, the Israel Defense Forces prosecution filed indictments against two staff sergeants of the Givati Brigade for forcing a 9-year-old Palestinian boy to open a number of bags they thought might contain explosives in January 2009. The boy told he was hit by the soldiers and forced to work for them at gunpoint.[93] The IDF said it opened the investigation after the incident was brought to its attention by the United Nations.[94] On 3 October 2010, a conviction in this matter, accompanied by a demotion and suspended sentence, was handed down by the military court against both defendants, though neither soldier was jailed.[95][96][97][98] The sentence was criticized as too lenient by Human Rights Watch[99] and the boy's mother.[93]

2009 to the 2014 Gaza War

A United Nations human rights body accused Israeli forces in June 2013 of "continuous use of Palestinian children as human shields and informants", voicing with deep concern 14 such cases had been reported between January 2010 and March 2013. It says almost all accused soldiers involved in the incidents have gone unpunished.[100]

In an interview with Breaking the Silence, a former Israeli soldier recounted that the commander of his unit employed the policy, that of forcing Palestinian civilians to enter the homes of suspected militants ahead of Israeli soldiers, despite acknowledging its ban, as the commander would rather that a Palestinian civilian be killed carrying out the duty than one of his men.[101] He told young Palestinian boys were also used by this particular unit to carry out military duties for the Israeli army.[101]

Defense for Children International-Palestine reported 17-year-old, Ahmad Abu Raida (also: "Reeda"),[102] was kidnapped by Israeli soldiers, who, after beating him up and threatening him, at times with sexual overtones,[103] used him as a human shield for five days, forcing him to walk in front of them with police dogs at gunpoint, search houses and dig in places soldiers suspected there might be tunnels.[102][104] The New York Times stated that his assertions could not be independently corroborated; the Israeli military confirmed that he had been detained, noting his father's affiliation with Hamas, who was a senior official in the Gaza Tourism Ministry.[105] No material evidence of the physical violence allegedly suffered by Raida, e.g. photos, medical reports or lingering wounds resulting from repeated blows, was produced.[106]

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor conducted an investigation during and following the military operation. The investigation found that, during the 2014 Gaza War, Israeli soldiers used Palestinian civilians as shield in Khuza'a. A family told the group that Israeli soldiers had killed the family's patriarch, a 65-year-old who was carrying a white flag, and proceeded to place family members, including children, by the house's windows and shoot from behind them.[102]

In May 2022, Israeli columnist Amira Hass wrote that Israel's Yamam police force invaded a family home in the Palestinian city of Jenin and used the father and his daughters as human shields during an operation.[107]

Use by Palestinian factions

As early as 2004 Amos Harel in Haaretz wrote that during the Second Intifada (2000–2005) Palestinian gunmen routinely used civilians and children as human shields and added that there is photographic evidence.[108]

On 22 November 2006, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Muhammad Wail Baroud, a military commander in the Popular Resistance Committee, of using civilians for shielding homes against military attacks but later stated that they erred. There was no evidence that the house was being used for military purposes at the time of the planned attack, nor did the IDF explain what military objective it could have had. They considered the destruction in light of Israel's longstanding policy of destroying homes as punitive measures instead of as legitimate military targets. HRW acknowledged they did not consider the motives of the civilians, such as whether they willingly assembled or not, and emphasized that it did not want to criticize non-violent resistance or any other form of peaceful protest, including civilians defending their homes.[109]

Activists as human shields

Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall, Western International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers in the Palestinian territories, who died in 2003 and 2004 respectively have been described as "human shields" campaigning against house demolition. ISM, however, strongly takes offence at the use of the term "human shield" to describe their work, preferring it be used only to refer to when armed combatants uses civilians as shields.[110]

Amnesty International has also rejected the definition of volunteer activist's actions or activist's actions for non-military property as "human shields", and regards only the direction of "specific civilians to remain in their homes as "human shields" for fighters, munitions, or military equipment" as “human shields”.[38]

In 2008, Rabbis for Human Rights stated they would act as voluntary "human shields" during the annual olive harvest to protect Palestinian villages from settlers.[111]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Gordon & Perugini 2020, p. 7.
  2. ↑ Ezra 2015, p. 33.
  3. ↑ Gordon & Perugini 2020, pp. 156–157, 165–166, 170–171, 174–176, 216.
  4. ↑ Gordon & Perugini 2020, p. 170.
  5. ↑ Schmitt 2008, pp. 35–37.
  6. ↑ Gordon & Perugini 2020, pp. 114–116.
  7. 1 2 "Hamas' use of human shields in Gaza" (PDF). NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.
  8. ↑ James Pamment, Vladimir Sazonov, Francesca Granelli, Sean Aday, Māris Andžāns, Una Bērziņa-Čerenkova, John-Paul Gravelines, Mils Hills, Irene Martinez-Sanchez, Mariita Mattiisen, Holger Molder, Yeganeh Morakabati, Aurel Sari, Gregory Simons, Jonathan Terra, Hybrid Threats: Hamas' use of human shields in Gaza Nato Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, 5 June 2019 pp.147–169, 152
  9. ↑ "Secretary-General's press conference on the Middle East | United Nations Secretary-General". www.un.org. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "EU nations condemn Hamas for what they describe as use of hospitals, civilians as 'human shields'". AP News. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  11. ↑ Wintour, Patrick (13 October 2023). "Blinken urges Israel to avoid civilian deaths and wants safe zones in Gaza". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Biden says Hamas using innocent Gazans as human shields; phones Netanyahu, PA's Abbas". Times of Israel. 15 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "Amid Increasingly Dire Humanitarian Situation in Gaza, Secretary-General Tells Security Council Hamas Attacks Cannot Justify Collective Punishment of Palestinian People – Press Release". 9451ST MEETING (AM & PM) SC/15462 24 October 2023
  14. ↑ "The Hamas compound Israeli troops expect to find under Gaza City's Shifa Hospital". The Times of Israel.
  15. ↑ "Is Hamas hiding in Gaza's main hospital? Israel's claim is now a focal point in a dayslong stalemate". AP News. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Hamas says it holds Israel, Biden responsible for Al Shifa hospital raid". Reuters. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "Pentagon Official Says Deterrence in Middle East Is Working". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Biden Backs Israel's Hospital Raid, Hopeful on Hostage Release". Bloomberg.com. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  19. ↑ Gordon & Perugini 2020, p. 170-178.
  20. ↑ Zanotti et al. 2010, p. 81.
  21. ↑ Baconi 2018, p. 215.
  22. ↑ Otto 2004, p. 778.
  23. ↑ Schmitt 2008, pp. 35–36.
  24. ↑ Gordon 2008, p. 207, "Soldiers have ordered Palestinians to enter buildings to check if they are booby-trapped. They have instructed residents to remove suspicious objects from roads used by the military. They have made civilians stand inside houses where soldiers have set up military positions, so that Palestinians will not fire at the soldiers. And they have forced Palestinians to walk in front of soldiers to shield them from gunfire, while the soldiers hold guns behind their backs and sometimes fire over their shoulders. Although this practice was outlawed by the High Court of Justice in 2005, there have been documented incidents in which soldiers have continued using Palestinians as human shields."
  25. ↑ Pfeffer, Anshel (11 March 2010). "Two IDF Soldiers Charged With Using 9-year-old 'Human Shield' in Gaza War". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023.
  26. ↑ Rosen 2012, 75% mark of epub, "Early in 2008, a senior Hamas leader acknowledged that the employment of human shields was integral to Hamas's strategy in a conflict with Israel" (citing ‘Speech by Hamas MP Fathi Hammad’, Al-Aqsa Television, 29 February 2008, http://www.peacewithrealism.org/headline/admit.htm).
  27. ↑ Rubinstein & Roznai 2011, p. 98, "The use of civilians as human shields, as a leader of Hamas had previously confirmed, is an essential tactic of Hamas in its armed confrontations with Israel."
  28. ↑ Rosen 2009, pp. 765–766, "Indeed, a Hamas leader had earlier acknowledged that the employment of human shields was integral to Hamas's strategy in its conflict with Israel."
  29. ↑ "Israel/Gaza: Operation "Cast Lead": 22 days of death and destruction". Amnesty International. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  30. ↑ Sterio, Milena (2010). "The Gaza Strip: Israel, its Foreign Policy and the Goldstone Report". Case Western Journal of International Law. 229: 244–245. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  31. ↑ Deitch, Ian; Barzak, Ibrahim. "Israel vows to destroy Hamas tunnels, deaths spike". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  32. 1 2 "EU strongly condemns indiscriminate Hamas rockets on Israel and use of Palestinian population as human shields, 'terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm', calls for 'immediate ceasefire'". Archived 31 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, European Jewish Press, 22 July 2014.
  33. 1 2 "European Union: Hamas, other Gaza terror groups must disarm". Archived 5 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Haaretz, 22 July 2014.
  34. 1 2 "Hamas acknowledges its forces fired rockets from civilian areas". Haaretz. 12 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  35. ↑ Israel-Gaza conflict: The myth of Hamas's human shields. The Independent (Report). 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  36. ↑ Harriet Sherwood (24 July 2014). In Gaza, Hamas fighters are among civilians. There is nowhere else for them to go. The Guardian (Report). Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  37. ↑ "Jeremy Bowen's Gaza notebook: I saw no evidence of Hamas using Palestinians as human shields". New Statesman. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  38. 1 2 3 4 "Document - Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: Israel/Gaza conflict". Amnesty International. July 2014.
  39. ↑ Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri: Human-Shield Policy Is Effective. YouTube. 9 July 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  40. ↑ Hamas spokesman calls on Palestinians to create human shields. YouTube. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  41. ↑ Benari, Elad, Canada (August 2014). "Kerry Demands Hamas Release Kidnapped IDF Soldier". israelnationalnews.com/News/. AFP & Arutz Sheva. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  42. ↑ Document – Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories: Israel/Gaza conflict, July 2014 (Report). Amnesty International. 17 July 2014.
  43. ↑ Cohen, Gili; Hass, Amira; Khoury, Jack. "Israel bombs empty Gaza hospital, calling it Hamas command center". Haaretz. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  44. ↑ "Gaza's hospitals in the middle between Israel and Hamas". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  45. ↑ "Reporter for Helsingin Sanomat confirms longstanding Israeli statements that Hamas missiles launched from the Shifa compound". Times of Israel.
  46. ↑ "VIDEO: Finnish reporter sees rockets fired from Gaza hospital", ynet, 2 August 2014.
  47. ↑ "Israel has stolen Gaza's future, and its hope". Haaretz. 2 August 2014.
  48. ↑ "While Israel held its fire, the militant group Hamas did not". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  49. ↑ "Gaza reporters' tweets: Hamas using human shields". The Jerusalem Post. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  50. ↑ "Top Secret Hamas Command Bunker in Gaza Revealed—And Why Reporters Won't Talk About It". Tablet Magazine. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  51. ↑ "Les menaces du Hamas sur un journaliste : "Tu dois quitter Gaza au plus vite et arrêter de travailler" !". Actualité Israel (in French). Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  52. ↑ "Journalist Describes Interrogation at Hamas Headquarters Next to Emergency Room at Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital". The Algemeiner. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  53. ↑ Israel/Gaza - Operation 'Cast Lead': 22 days of death and destruction (PDF), Amnesty International, 2 July 2009, archived (PDF) from the original on 11 March 2017, retrieved 24 May 2018
  54. ↑ Norman Finkelstein, Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom, Archived 31 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine University of California Press, 2018 pp.68–81 pp.70–71, p.70.
  55. ↑ "Amnesty International says Hamas committed war crimes, too". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  56. 1 2 "Palestinian armed groups killed civilians on both sides in attacks amounting to war crimes in Gaza conflict". Amnesty International. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  57. ↑ References Amnesty International. (March 2015). UNLAWFUL AND DEADLY ROCKET AND MORTAR ATTACKS BY PALESTINIAN ARMED GROUPS DURING THE 2014 GAZA/ISRAEL CONFLICT. Amnesty International -. https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MDE2111782015ENGLISH.pdf
  58. ↑ Taub, Amanda (19 October 2023). "What the Laws of War Say About Forced Displacement and 'Human Shields'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  59. ↑ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Rose, Emily; Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (24 October 2023). "'Humanitarian pause' in Hamas-Israel war is urged to aid Gaza civilians". Reuters. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  60. ↑ House, The White (20 October 2023). "Remarks by President Biden on the United States' Response to Hamas's Terrorist Attacks Against Israel and Russia's Ongoing Brutal War Against Ukraine". The White House. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  61. ↑ Magid, Jacob (27 October 2023). "Israel: Hamas's main operations base is under Shifa Hospital in Gaza City". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  62. ↑ correspondents, ynet (26 October 2023). "IDF reveals Hamas command centers in, under Gaza hospital, Tel Aviv residential block suffers direct hit from rocket". Ynetnews. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  63. ↑ "Physicians for Human Rights Condemns Attacks against Civilians in Eastern Ghouta". Human Rights Documents Online. doi:10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-2259-20180038. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  64. ↑ "EU condemns Hamas for using human shields, but urges Israeli restraint". euronews. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  65. ↑ "Human Shields". B'tselem, 11 November 2017.
  66. ↑ Gordon, Perugini 2020 p.165.
  67. 1 2 3 "Mofaz: IDF to appeal 'human shield' ruling". Yediot Aharonot. 11 October 2005. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  68. 1 2 3 "Israel-Gaza: IDF used Palestinians as human shields 1,200 occasions in last five years, say Israeli defence officials". Belfast Telegraph, 12 October 2005.
  69. ↑ "Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus". Amnesty International. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  70. ↑ Human Rights Watch, Jenin: IDF Military Operations, Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine "VII. Human Shielding and the Use of Civilians for Military Purposes", May 2002.
  71. 1 2 B'Tselem, Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine "Israeli Soldiers use civilians as Human Shields in Beit Hanun", B'Tselem, 20 July 2006.
  72. ↑ UN Doc. Chronological Review of Events 6 November 2002, "A military court in Israel sentenced two junior officers to 28 days imprisonment because they had used Palestinian civilians as 'human shields', Israel Radio reported. A platoon sergeant who had made a navigation error and ended up in a Palestinian village with his soldiers had forced a villager to drive them to a safe place, the radio said. During the sergeant's investigation, a similar incident had come to light in the same battalion, during which a squad commander had made a Palestinian drive him and his soldiers to safety."
  73. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "A paper on the IOF Invasion of the town of Beit Hanoun (June 29 – August 5, 2004)", Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, 12 August 2004. On "Al Mezan Center for Human Rights". Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013. Another 36 homes were occupied by Israeli soldiers and used as watch posts. In every case of home occupation the IOF detained the inhabitants inside one room of the house
  74. 1 2 "Israel's human shields draw fire". The Guardian. 2 January 2003. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  75. 1 2 "Israel faces human shield claim". Archived 17 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 23 April 2004.
  76. ↑ "Israeli army accused of new killing". Archived 17 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 16 August 2002.
  77. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  78. 1 2 "IDF to ask High Court to review ban on 'human shield' practice". Haaretz. 11 October 2005. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  79. ↑ "IDF to appeal human shield ban". BBC News. 12 October 2005. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  80. ↑ Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine – "Human rights groups on the attack on Gaza B'Tselem: Israeli soldiers use civilians as human shields in Beit Hanun", B'Tselem, 20 July 2006.
  81. 1 2 3 Israel Probes "Human Shield" Allegations". Archived 16 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine CBS News, 11 April 2007.
  82. ↑ "Israelis use Palestinian as human shield". Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Denver Post, 12 April 2007.
  83. ↑ "Israel accused of using Palestinian children as human shields". The Guardian. 9 March 2007. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  84. ↑ "Israel Human Shield Suspension". Archived 17 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News, 14 April 2007.
  85. 1 2 "Breaking silence on Gaza abuses". BBC News. 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  86. ↑ Amnesty International Report "Operation Cast Lead": 22 Days of Death and Destruction pp. 48–50, "Document". 2 July 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  87. ↑ "Impunity for War Crimes in Gaza-Southern Israel a Recipe for Further Civilian Suffering". Archived 21 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Amnesty International.
  88. ↑ James Bone. "UN accuses Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza", The Times, 16 September 2009.
  89. ↑ Associated Press report, "UN Human Rights Council endorses Gaza war crimes report, demands Israel, Hamas investigate", Archived 17 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine New York Daily News, 16 October 2009.
  90. 1 2 Chassay, Clancy (23 March 2009). "Guardian investigation uncovers evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  91. 1 2 "Israel soldiers on Gaza: Excerpts". BBC News. 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
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  93. 1 2 "Israeli soldiers who used Palestinian boy, 9, as a human shield avoid jail". The Guardian. 21 November 2010. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
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  99. ↑ Israel: Soldiers' Punishment for Using Boy as 'Human Shield' Inadequate (Report). Human Rights Watch. 26 November 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
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  101. 1 2 "Israeli soldiers testify about violence against Palestinian children". Le Monde (in French). 21 August 2012. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014. One of the soldiers testifies that a procedure, though banned, [is still] used when the army comes to arrest a Palestinian suspect: soldiers send a neighbor, charged with asking the residents of the besieged house to come out. 'I think that happened in Tulkarem. We made everyone come out, without finding the person we were looking for. So we sent the neighbors in, and afterward a child. He had to take a tour inside the house, open all the doors and windows, lit all the lights.' The commander of the unit said the procedure was illegal. 'He declared he would rather that a neighbor be killed ... if that made it possible to avoid one of his men from being shot while entering the house', said the soldier. The population has no choice but to cooperate. 'When you knock on the door at night, with your gun shining under their face, your flashlight on their eyes, and you see he is not armed ..., he won't tell you he doesn't want to cooperate.'
  102. 1 2 3 Euro-Mid Documents Israel's Use of Human Shields in Gaza (Report). Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights. 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  103. ↑ Fares Akram; Jodi Rudoren (24 August 2014). "Teenager Cites Ordeal as Captive of Israelis". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  104. ↑ "Israeli forces use Palestinian child as human shield in Gaza". Archived 28 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Defence for Children International Palestine. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  105. ↑ AKRAM, FARES and JODI RUDOREN (24 August 2014). "Teenager Cites Ordeal as Captive of Israelis". No. Middle East. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  106. ↑ Bernstein, Prof. David (24 August 2014). "Why would the NY Times publish an uncorroborated allegation from the son of a top Hamas official?". The Washington Post. No. The Volokh Conspiracy. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  107. ↑ Amira Hass (31 May 2022). "Will Someone Finally Say Israel Has Lost It?". Haaretz.
  108. ↑ Harel, Amos (3 August 2004). "Analysis / Stoking an appetite for revenge". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2011. The photographs from recent operations show that the armed Palestinians use the many civilians in the area, including children, as a 'human shield'. Since this is done routinely, harming children (some, it is possible, by Palestinian fire) becomes almost impossible to prevent.
  109. ↑ "Human Rights Watch Statement on our November 22 Press Release". Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Human Rights Watch, 15 December 2006.
  110. ↑ "ISM report Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine", 5 May 2003.
  111. ↑ "Settlers clash with rabbis guarding Palestinian olive harvest near Hebron" Archived 6 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Haaretz, 13 October 2008 Associated Press.

Sources

Books

  • Baconi, Tareq (2018). Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9781503605817.
  • Gordon, Neve (2008). Israel's Occupation. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25530-2.
  • Gordon, Neve; Perugini, Nicola (2020). Human shields: a history of people in the line of fire. Oakland, California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-97228-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Rosen, Richard D. (2012). "Chapter 15, The Protection of Civilians During the Israeli-Hamas Conflict: The Goldstone Report". In Lovell, David W.; Primoratz, Igor (eds.). Protecting Civilians During Violent Conflict: Theoretical and Practical Issues for the 21st Century (ebk-ePUB). Routledge. ISBN 9781317074342.
  • Zanotti, Jim; Sharp, Jeremy M.; Migdalovitz, Carol; Addis, Casey L.; Blanchard, Christopher M. (2010). "Chapter 2: Israel and Hamas: Conflict in Gaza (2008 - 2009)". In Kardelj, Nejc (ed.). Israel vs. Hamas. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. pp. 67–112. ISBN 978-1-61470-176-7.

Journal articles

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