Haaretz Investigation: Israeli Army Uses Palestinian Civilians to Inspect Potentially Booby-trapped Tunnels in Gaza
'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
At first it's hard to recognize them. They're usually wearing Israeli army uniforms, many of them are in their 20s, and they're always with Israeli soldiers of various ranks.
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32
Semi-sweet Betsy
15:47Until today I read only the story synopses and letters because I didn't have a full subscription. $14 a month seemed too steep. Haaretz is the voice of TRUTH about Israel, and it's half what send to D w/o B and perhaps just as important to save lives.
31
ML
11:41 15.08.2024'Our dogs' lives are more important than their lives'.
The deranged thinking in this: 'some soldiers said they thought ... [using random Palestinians as human shields to keep the dogs safe] was just an excuse to soothe consciences'.
30
Noam
07:30 15.08.2024I can not believe my eyes what I just read. IDF is the most immoral Army in the world, supported and weaponized by the West. This is against the Geneva Convention, and Israel must held accountable.
29
Raoul Duke
22:43 14.08.2024Using innocent Palestinian civilians as shields of war is something Hamas has been doing since October 7th and before. They have been killing and sacrificing the very people they claim they are fighting to liberate.
Reply to comment
Michael
01:28 15.08.2024Raoul DukeYou are wrong. Even if Hamas uses civilians as human shields, those civilians are entitled to full protection under international law unless they directly participate in the fighting. Does a 5-year-old kid directly participate in fighting? Of course not! The human shield argument brought forward by Israel is nothing but a lie and a pretext for the genocidal campaign against the civilians in Gaza.
Billh42
17:18 15.08.2024Raoul DukeRaoul Duke, interesting point of view - they do it and it's disgusting so that means it okay if we do it too.
28
Misi bácsi
22:05 14.08.2024This story is very important. Thoughtful reporting. Use of civilians and/or captured terrorists to do what is reported is almost certainly a war crime. As important is the severe deterioration of ethics among some IDF. Thank God some IDF soldiers are refusing to do this conduct.
27
Karen P.
19:43 14.08.2024It seems as if none of the soldiers interviewed for this article acted in opposition to their commanders orders to use Gazans as human shields. Although they complained about it, they were complicit in carrying out the orders. They are weak, and will be haunted by this the rest of their lives.
26
Meca
16:23 14.08.2024I hope the ICC will take this into account when issuing the arrest warrants. What a degenerated and perverse institution the so-called "most moral army in the world" is. How deep can humans sink? My respect for the soldiers who refused to apply the order.
25
TerryT
13:20 14.08.2024Someone has been busy removing posts. Unfortunately for them they can't also remove the article. It is hard work being an apologist for Israel when every other day their lies, crimes and violations are exposed.
Reply to comment
Terez
17:51 14.08.2024TerryTOh yes!
DGM
05:02 15.08.2024TerryTOn that issue, @TerryT, I really wish that Haaretz would make clear what their policies on removal of posts is, and how a decision to remove is made once someone reports a post. I have reported really vile, racist and violent posts that have then been allowed to remain up, but have seen well-reasoned, articulate comments removed even when they made important contributions to a discussion thread. The comments section is one of the most important features of Haaretz reporting, but the flow of argument and discussion is often unnecessarily disrupted by malicious reporting, it seems. Clarification of the rules from Haaretz editorial staff, and perhaps better monitoring, would be appreciated.
24
Bazza T
12:42 14.08.2024This is wrong. Also the loss of Israeli soldiers in the booby trapped tunnels is bad. Could we ask Hamas and Islamic Jihad to desist from from booby trapping. If they don't agree which is likely, then a detailed map of where the traps are would be helpful. Other wise Hamas volunteers could be negotiated in the pending hostage deal. By the way Haaretz when you fight a vicious lieing enemy that welcomes Gazan deaths as part of its policy, its difficult to have the democratic morals you femandm
Reply to comment
Itai
17:18 14.08.2024Bazza T'A vicious lying enemy that welcomes Gazan deaths as part of its policy.' I could not agree more. It is difficult to keep democratic norms when facing the Israeli occupation force.
23
ML
11:37 14.08.2024'Our dogs' lives are more important than their lives'.
The deranged thinking going on here - '... some soldiers said they thought this was just an excuse to soothe consciences.'
Reply to comment
Ellen
18:54 14.08.2024MLThey dont give a damn about the dogs any more than people. The article explained thcombat rendered the dogs no longer competent. Not mentiond was training dogs is time consuming and expensive. Gazans are free.
If they really cared about israeli lives they government would try to end the war instead of dragging it out for political reasons.
