Author and antiwar activist Fred Branfman wrote this open letter to American supporters of Israel in August of 2014, during Israel’s then most deadly war on Gaza. His words ring even truer in 2025.
The Grayzone has geolocated the underground bunker of an important Israeli military command and control center nestled within a densely populated Tel Aviv neighborhood that serves as a human shield
Israel’s key military command centers and bases are embedded inside densely populated civilian areas, raising serious concerns about the use of human shields.
In a bombshell report from the Associated Press, Israeli soldiers confess to systematically using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza, though the practice is banned by international law.
Palestinians attest that the Israeli military uses the practice in the occupied West Bank as well.
There are countless examples of Israel’s use of false, yet often unquestioned, narratives to defend attacks against Palestinians. The lies have provided cover for Israel’s persistent violations of international law. Palestinians must be heard, Israel must be held accountable, before it is too late.
Israeli military cruelty knows no bounds, as another school-turned-shelter is bombed, children are abused, hospitals are depleted, and famine is descending.
Horrific situation only grows worse by the day, as Israeli attacks continue relentlessly in Gaza and Lebanon; US lends Israel a hand while Americans call for accountability; Israeli-American poised to get very rich policing Gaza; more.
Multiple human rights reports show that Palestinian armed groups do not use human shields, but Israel does. Israel’s false claims about Palestinian human shields are just attempts to justify its own targeting of civilians.
Israel worries that Iran might retaliate for Israel’s unprovoked attack on Tehran by striking a military target near an Israeli population center – but it’s fine for Israel to go after Hamas fighters in populated areas.
Israeli soldiers rounded up Ahmad Safi and his male family members in Khan Younis and made them stand atop a sand dune for 12 hours as the soldiers took cover behind them during a firefight with Palestinian resistance fighters.