Gazan ‘human shield’ for IDF shot dead in error by officer — report
Palestinian was said to be assisting troops in Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion in Rafah area over summer; army has said the practice is forbidden, but does not deny it took place
A Palestinian who was assisting Israeli forces in searching potentially booby-trapped buildings and tunnels in the Gaza Strip over the summer was shot dead erroneously by an officer, according to a report by the independent news site Hamakom Hachi Ham Bagehenom (The Hottest Place in Hell).
The report said the Palestinian man was serving as a human shield for the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, when the unit was deployed to the Rafah area in August.
The news outlet said that the Palestinian man would be sent to search buildings and tunnels before troops did, a practice that has been reportedly commonplace in the IDF during the war in Gaza.
Hamakom said the Gazan man was also allowed to reside alongside the Nahal troops inside a building.
A commander in the battalion who entered the building spotted the man and opened fire on him, without knowing he was cooperating with the military, the report said.
The IDF Spokespersons Unit confirmed the incident to Hamakom, saying “the case was investigated by the brigade commander. The lessons of the investigation have been implemented into the forces’ activities.”
An extensive New York Times report published in October detailed the practice of using Palestinians to carry out reconnaissance missions throughout operations in Gaza, seeking to minimize harm to troops. The newspaper said it spoke with seven IDF soldiers who said the practice was “routine, commonplace, and organized.”
In response, the military told The Times of Israel that “the orders and instructions of the IDF forbid using civilians in Gaza who were arrested in the field for military missions.”
“The orders and instructions are made clear regularly to soldiers in the field during the war,” the IDF added at the time.
The New York Times also cited retired IDF Brig. Gen Tamir Hayman, a former head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, saying that some detainees had either been coerced into entering suspected booby-trapped tunnels or volunteered to guide troops in the field in order to seek favor with the military.
The New York Times report said that the IDF soldiers they spoke to indicated that the practice required “the awareness of senior field commanders.” Some soldiers in the field expressed opposition to the practice, the newspaper said, but their concerns were largely dismissed, and the detainees were referred to as “terrorists” even if there was no evidence of any affiliation to Hamas.
Israel has long accused Hamas of using Gazan civilians as human shields as common practice, positioning rocket launchers, command centers and other operations in the heart of residential areas. Many released and rescued hostages from Gaza have testified that they were held in homes in crowded apartment buildings among families.
The Israeli military has often cited information gathered from Gazan detainees as being used in operations to rescue hostages or recover their bodies from Gaza. In July, the Shin Bet published a photograph showing a handcuffed Palestinian detainee dressed in protective gear alongside IDF troops during an operation to recover the bodies of five Israeli hostages.
