Probe unveils Israel’s widespread use of Palestinian detainees as human shields

A New York Times investigation has revealed that the Israeli military has been using Palestinian detainees as human shields in a widespread manner across the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli regime has been leading a war of genocide since last October.

The paper published a report on the probe, conducted by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Natan Odenheimer on Wednesday.

Odenheimer said he decided to look into the matter after hearing an Israeli trooper talking about Palestinians being sent into tunnels used by the Hamas resistance movement.

He cited the trooper as saying that “the military is using Palestinian prisoners as human shields, sending them into Hamas tunnels ahead of Israeli forces to probe those dangerous areas as well as into homes that they were afraid were booby-trapped.”

In some cases, Palestinian detainees “were dressed as” Israeli forces, and in others, “they were given body cameras to take with them to give live feed to Israeli soldiers,” the trooper added.

The journalist described one of the reasons behind the disturbing practice as a human being’s ability to walk and move objects in a far more efficient manner than the military’s canines or unmanned vehicles.

He interviewed a 43-year-old father of four, who had been subjected to the practice, citing the victim as saying how “they (Israeli forces) ordered him at gunpoint to undress and they blindfolded him. They took him barefoot and almost completely naked.”

The victim injured his feet on the glass, while walking as the troops “were staying behind, giving him directions from a megaphone,” the Palestinian said.

After conducting the practice, the military would then take some of the detainees, including the 43-year-old, into the occupied Palestinian territories, locking them up in detention centers.

Odenheimer said, “One of the things that really sent chills into my arms when I heard this story is that he said that he was excited, happy, and relieved to get there, knowing that he's outside of this dangerous zone.”

The journalist said he had also spoke to 16 other Israeli forces and military officials about the development.

Most of those, who had participated in the practice, described it as a rather routine development, the journalist said.

“And it seemed to us that this... practice became more and more widespread throughout the war.”

Odenheimer said he had been able to confirm that this took place in at least 11 different Israeli squads throughout the Gaza Strip.

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‘Mosquitos and wasps’

The reporter, meanwhile, said the Israeli military had started calling the victims of the practice “mosquitos or wasps.”

According to an Israeli commander, a mosquito was a Palestinian, who had been detained nearby in Gaza and was then being used as “a human shield in tunnels or in other dangerous places.”

A wasp, however, was a victim, who had been to the occupied territories and was, then, brought into Gaza by Israeli intelligence officers for brief and specific missions.

According to Odenheimer, the Israeli military would, throughout the course of the practice, try to squeeze as much information as it could from the victims.

He, meanwhile, denounced the development as completely illegal under the international law.

The report came amid the October 7, 2023-present war that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 44,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

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