The IDF would investigate the claim that it “uses human shields in Gaza” if further details were provided, it told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
“No identifying details have been provided that would allow verification of these claims. If further details are presented, the matter will be thoroughly investigated,” the military told the Post.
The Associated Press reported Saturday night that a Gazan man, Ayman Abu Hamadan, told them that he was used as a lookout for Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Ayman claimed that IDF soldiers would dress him in a military uniform and strap a camera to his forehead, in order to enter homes in the Gaza Strip to ascertain if they were clear of bombs, traps, or assailants.
The only time he wasn’t bound or blindfolded, Hamadan said, was when Israeli soldiers used him as their human shield, the Associated Press reported him saying.
The IDF responded by saying that “The use of Palestinians as human shields, or otherwise coercing them to participate in military operations, is strictly prohibited in IDF orders. These orders have been routinely emphasized to the forces in the course of the war. Allegations of misconduct in this regard are thoroughly examined.”
“Allegations of conduct that do not comply with these directives and procedures are examined. In several cases, investigations by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division were opened following suspicions that the military was involving Palestinians in military missions. These investigations are ongoing, and naturally, no further details can be provided at this time,” the IDF told the Post.
The Israeli military has a history of prohibiting and decrying the practice of using civilians as human shields, a strategy that Hamas infamously uses.
In October 2024, an anonymous soldier told CNN that his unit held two Palestinian prisoners and reportedly used them as human shields to enter and probe potentially dangerous places in Gaza. The soldier also claimed that this use of Palestinians was common among Israeli units operating in Gaza.
There were earlier reports of this practice in October 2024
The scale of this practice, according to CNN’s report, is not explicitly known, but the news organization cited the soldier and five former Palestinian detainees that the practice was commonly used in areas such as northern Gaza, Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and Rafah.
This IDF soldier was reached by CNN through the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, an organization that grants a platform for soldiers to give anonymous testimonies regarding alleged abuses or transgressions witnessed during their military service, with the aim of “bringing an end to the occupation.”
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.