‘We are holding slaves’: Israeli soldier reveals systematic use of Palestinian ‘human shields’ in Gaza

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‘We are holding slaves’: Israeli soldier reveals systematic use of Palestinian ‘human shields’ in Gaza
Israeli soldiers operating in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, November 28, 2024. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)

The soldier revealed that the Israeli Military Police are investigating just a few cases to give the impression that the practice is rare.

reposted from The Cradle

An Israeli soldier disclosed in a March 14 Haaretz op-ed [in Hebrew – find translation below. Oddly, Ha’aretz seems to have excluded this article from its English language edotopm]] that the military’s practice of using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza is far more common than acknowledged, and that a recent investigation was intended to create the false impression that such incidents are infrequent.

“I saw that six investigations were opened by the Military Police (MP) regarding the use of Palestinians as human shields, and I almost choked. I’ve seen cover-ups in my life, but this is a new low,” the soldier expressed.

“In Gaza, human shields are used at least six times a day. If the Military Police want to do their job seriously, they should open at least 2,190 investigations. But the MP just want to pretend to the world that we’re investigating ourselves, so they find a few scapegoats and pin everything on them,” the soldier stated, following nine months of combat in the strip.

He explained that Palestinian civilians were forced to enter homes in Gaza to check for Hamas fighters or explosives and make sure it was safe for the soldiers to enter themselves. The soldiers refer to Palestinians forced to clear homes in this way as “Shawish” or “slaves.”

Sometimes, Shawish are sent to houses simply to set fire to or blow up the house.

During the first months of the Israeli ground invasion, soldiers primarily used dogs or robots to clear homes. However, the practice of using civilians as human shields expanded over time.

“I didn’t understand back then how common it would become. Today, almost every company holds ‘Shawish,’ and infantry forces don’t enter a house before the ‘Shawish’ clears it,” he explained.

This means there are at least four Palestinians held against their will as human shields in each platoon, 12 in each battalion, and 36 in each brigade.

According to the soldier, the most senior levels of the Israeli military in Gaza have known about human shields for more than a year, and no one tried to stop it. “On the contrary, it was defined as an operational necessity.”

“We’re holding a group of slaves, and the MP are trying to cover it up with six investigations,” the soldier concluded.

The military’s use of human shields story was first revealed by Haaretz in August last year. A senior military source there said that both the Chief of Staff and the outgoing Southern Command Major General knew about the procedure.

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March 13, 2025, Google translation, reposted from Ha’aretz in Hebrew

I saw that six MPI (military police) investigations had been opened into the use of Palestinians as human shields, and I almost choked. I’ve seen self-covering (as human shields) before, but this is a new record. In Gaza, human shields are used at least six times a day. If the MPI wants to do their job seriously, they would have to open at least 2,190 investigations.

But the MPI only wants us to be able to tell ourselves and the world that we are investigating ourselves, so they found some scapegoats and are blaming the whole case on them.

I was in Gaza for nine months. I saw quite a few new procedures there. One of the worst of them was the “Mosquito Procedure”: innocent Palestinians who are forced to enter houses in Gaza and “qualify” them, meaning to check that there are no terrorists or explosives in them. We called it all sorts of names, “Mosquito Procedure,” “Shawishim” (slaves), “platforms.”

I was first exposed to this in December 2023, two months after the start of the ground maneuver. Long before the shortage of “sting” dogs arose, which became the crazy and unofficial excuse for this crazy and unofficial procedure . I didn’t realize then how common it would become.

Today, almost every platoon has a “Shawish”, and an infantry force doesn’t enter a house until “Shawish” has acquitted it. This means that there are four “Shawish” in a company, 12 in a battalion, and 36 in a brigade. At least. We have a layer of slaves, and in the MTA they are trying to get away with six investigations.

I attended a meeting in which one of the brigade commanders presented the “mosquito capture” to the division commander as an “operational achievement necessary for carrying out the mission.” It was so normalized that I thought I was hallucinating. Back in August, when this story was revealed in Haaretz and in testimonies that reached Breaking the Silence , a senior source there said that both the Chief of Staff and the outgoing Southern Command Major General knew about the procedure. I don’t know if it’s worse that they don’t know what’s going on in the army, or that they know and are silent.

Six months have passed since the article was published, and soldiers continued to arrest Palestinians and force them into houses and shafts. I waited to hear the Chief of Staff and the Southern Command Colonel say something — it didn’t happen.

The highest levels on the ground have known about human shields for over a year, and no one has tried to stop it. On the contrary, it was defined as an operational necessity. It is important to note that we can enter homes even without human shields. We did this for months according to a well-organized entry procedure, which included bringing in a robot, drone, or dog. This procedure proved itself, but it took time, and the command demanded achievements here and now.

In other words, the reason we forced Palestinians to serve as human shields was not because it was safe, but because it was faster. That is why we risked the lives of Palestinians who were not suspected of anything, except for being present in the situation.

It didn’t go without resistance. Soldiers and officers rebelled, I rebelled. But this is what happens when the senior officer doesn’t care and the political echelon cares even less. This is what happens when the trigger is light and the operational burnout reaches your throat; this is what happens when you are in a war that never ends, that fails to bring back hostages alive, month after month. All moral considerations become blurred.

An officer friend told me about an incident that happened to them: in one of the houses that “Shawish” had cleared, they encountered a terrorist. The “Shawish” was an adult (innocent), and when he realized he had messed up, he pee’d his pants out of fear. I don’t know what happened to him. I was afraid to ask.

This is one incident, but it makes it clear that the stories about “security” are legends. These people are not professional fighters, they don’t know how to clear a house. The soldiers don’t trust them anyway, because they are not there of their own free will. Sometimes “Shawish” are sent to houses simply to set fire to or blow up the house. This has nothing to do with security.

Almost every department has a Shawish, 36 in the brigade, with the knowledge of the officers. We keep hundreds of slaves, and the MTA has opened six investigations.

I don’t want to think about the effect this has on the psyche of those who have to go into a house, dying of fear, instead of armed soldiers. I’m even more afraid to think about the effect on our soldiers. Does any mother who sends her son to fight realize that he might find himself grabbing a Palestinian the age of his father or his little brother and violently forcing him to run ahead of her, unarmed, into suspicious houses or shafts? Not only did we fail to protect these fighters, we crushed their psyches, and there’s no way to know what this will do to us, as a society, when they return home.

That’s why the MPICH investigation is so heated. First, they demanded that soldiers use Palestinians as human shields, and then the officers use the soldiers as their human shields. And all this while we are trying to return kidnapped people, who were kidnapped, among other things, to serve as human shields for Hamas scum.

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