Israeli Soldiers Reportedly Use Teenagers As Live Shields And Palestinian Civilians Check Tunnels

JAKARTA - Israeli soldiers use Palestinian youth as living shields, as well as on other occasions use civilians to inspect tunnels that may be traps in Gaza, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said based on the results of investigations.

Initially, it was difficult to identify civilians used to inspect tunnels. They usually wear Israeli army uniforms, many of them are in their 20s and always be with Israeli soldiers from various levels.

"But if you pay a closer attention, you can see that most of them are wearing sneakers, not army boots. And their hands are handcuffed behind their backs and their faces are full of fear," the newspaper reported, quoted from the Palestinian news agency WAFA Aug. 14.

The soldiers refer to each of them as shawish, an obscure Arabic word from Turkey which means a sergeant. Palestinians have been randomly used by Israeli army units in Gaza for one purpose: to be a human shield for soldiers during operations, he said.

"Our lives are more important than their lives," the army said.

"His thinking is better for the Israeli army to stay alive and for the shawishim to become the people detonated by the explosive device," added Haaretz.

Unsuspected Gazans detained and sent as human shields to search tunnels and houses before Israeli soldiers entered, according to several sources, said it was done with the knowledge of senior Israeli officers.

In recent months, Israeli soldiers have used human shields in this way across Gaza, even the chief of staff's office knows about it, Haaretz reports.

One of the soldiers participating in the kidnapping of Palestinians for use as a human shield told the daily that they were "proud" of it, as quoted by the Daily Sabah.

The stories of the soldiers are similar to reports published by Al-Jazeera in June, which show soldiers dress Palestinians in Israeli uniforms, putting cameras on them to be sent to the destroyed complex.

Another soldier told Haaretz they kidnapped a 16-year-old Palestinian boy to be used as a human shield.

"About five months ago, two Palestinians were brought to us," he said, adding they were told, "Use them, they are Gazans, use them as human shields.'"

"You just keep quiet and try to convince yourself, 'Okay, let's use them,'" said another soldier of the unit.

"They try to justify it rationally, but in the end, you find a 16-year-old boy sitting handcuffed in the house, with his eyes closed. The soldiers should help him defecate or feed him. This is not an event that begins and ends with him entering the house and tunneling or blowing up the building. They were around. They lived with those people at home for a few days."

Palestinians kidnapped by the IDF and not killed during the torture were released after their duties were completed, the soldiers said, adding they understood that these people were not "terrorists" but civilians who were kidnapped specifically for this purpose.

It is known, since launching land operations in Gaza in October, the Israeli army has detained thousands of Palestinian civilians, including women, children to members of the health and civil defense teams.

In recent months, the army has released dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza in stages. Many of those released showed signs of deteriorating health, with their bodies showing signs of torture and medical negligence.