‘Our lives are more important than their lives’: Gazans not suspected of terrorism are detained and sent as human shields to search tunnels and houses before IDF soldiers enter, with the full knowledge of senior Israeli officers, several sources say; IDF claims this practice is forbidden

There is also evidence that in some cases, minors or the elderly are used. “There were times when really old people were made to go into houses,” one combat soldier said. If the Palestinian knows Hebrew, that’s an advantage for the IDF; when Gazans are used in buildings and tunnels, they need to report to the forces outside.

As one soldier put it, Palestinians are told: “Do one mission of … a [tunnel] shaft and you’re free.”

Still, even though some Palestinians are required to remain with a unit “only” for 24 hours, others wind up staying for two days or even a week. “When you’re inside this thing, you don’t know how to say what’s okay,” the soldier said. “What’s certain is that it’s a horrible feeling.”

  • FelixCress@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    There is a precedent for it. In the 2WW, in Warsaw Uprising, the Nazis were using civilians as live shields for their tanks to stop Polish Home Army shooting at them.

    No surprise that Nazis employ the same tactics again.

  • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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    4 months ago

    Also some important lines from the article about the Biden administration lying that it’s not standard practice:

    The Americans are furious, though Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, has said that the Israel Defense Forces is investigating the incidents and that the evidence in the videos does not reflect the IDF’s values and violates rules and regulations. “When I saw the report from Al Jazeera, I said: ‘Ah, yes, it’s true,’” a combat soldier in a conscript IDF brigade who took part in the use of Gazans as human shields told Haaretz. “And then I saw the IDF’s response, which totally doesn’t reflect reality. It’s done with the knowledge of the brigade commander, at the least.”

    About five months ago, two Palestinians were brought to us. One was 20 and the other was 16. We were told: 'Use them, they’re Gazans, use them as human shields.

    The soldier said that in the IDF, “they know that it’s not a one-time incident of a young and stupid company commander who decides on his own to take somebody.”

  • madjo@feddit.nl
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    4 months ago

    The IDF considers themselves Übermenschen? Where have we seen that before?

  • Media Bias Fact Checker@lemmy.worldB
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    4 months ago