The claim that Hamas is using civilians as human shields is one of the most prominent allegations in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza. Since the beginning of last October, Israeli officials in particular, and Western officials in general, have repeated this claim at every opportunity. As part of the Israeli (and American and European) war management itself, for the sake of what was called: “Israel’s right to defend itself,” which found its only translation in the intense and widespread bombing of Gaza for about three months now; With the aim of eliminating Hamas and destroying the potential of Palestinian resistance.
If the term “human shields” was originally a military and legal term, its extensive use – in this war by military and political officials – constituted a Western political cover for the war. To maintain its material objectives (military and security), despite its enormous and unprecedented humanitarian cost.
A thorough discussion of the issue of “human shields” requires understanding several perspectives, including the political and military perspectives on the one hand, and the legal and moral perspectives on the other hand. Therefore, I will devote this article to proving that the use of the term “human shields” by Israeli and Western politicians and military personnel here is part of the war (political and military), and I will devote another article to proving that the Israeli and Western allegations – if we accept them – do not justify the occurrence of this huge number of civilian casualties. Palestinians, neither legally nor morally.
Various Western officials have colluded – since the October 7, 2023 event – to claim that Hamas is using the residents of Gaza as human shields, and I will point out here some telling facts.
On October 13, an Israeli Air Force commander confirmed to the American Al-Hurra TV channel that the massive bombing of Gaza was intended to “protect the citizens of Israel, and that Hamas is using civilians as human shields.” On October 16, Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for the former Israeli Prime Minister, held Hamas fully responsible for the Palestinian victims. Alleging that Hamas is using civilians as human shields and preventing them from fleeing to southern Gaza.
In 2018, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, accused Hamas of using children as “human shields,” following the killing of dozens of Palestinians during demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, which is exactly the behavior we are witnessing in the ongoing war.
On October 20, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Hamas is using civilians as human shields,” and “Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas attacks.” On October 27, the United States Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said – during a special emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly -: “Hamas has never cared about the needs, real concerns, or safety of those it claims to represent. Hamas does not respect the rule of law or the lives of those it claims to represent.” Human beings, Palestinian civilians – in her opinion – are replaceable and merely human shields.”
It seems that this claim was accepted by the Western side, with officials repeatedly repeating it, to the point that the European Union officially adopted it, and its foreign ministers agreed on that. On November 12, the European Union condemned the Hamas movement. Alleging that it “used hospitals and civilians as human shields in Gaza.” The matter even reached the media arena, as the American newspaper “The Washington Post” published a cartoon under the title: “Human shields.”
The drawing depicts a person – presumably Hamas – saying, with a rope tied to his body, a woman and four children: How dare Israel attack civilians?! But the newspaper was later forced to delete the drawing from its website. Due to criticism from readers, the drawing remained published in the printed edition at the beginning of last November, that is, after this claim had been reinforced by Western officials for about a full month.
There is – at the level of facts – a paradox consisting of two things:
- The first thing: Israeli and Western officials did not bother to prove or discuss this claim either. Their situation in this case is the same as with the rest of the claims and justifications that they kept repeating during the ongoing war on Gaza. Hamas has consistently denied this claim, which the Israelis have repeatedly repeated in all their previous wars on Gaza.
In 2010, for example, Reuven Arlich, director of the Israeli Terrorist Intelligence and Information Center, prepared a report in which he accused Hamas of using children as human shields, and establishing command centers and launching pads for Qassam rockets in the vicinity of about 100 mosques and in close proximity to hospitals.
Not only that, Erlich launched a sharp attack on the report of international investigator Richard Goldstone. Because he does not support Israel's claims, he accused him of being “one-sided, biased, and deceptive, since he accepts Hamas' claims.” In 2015, the Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice issued a report repeating the same allegations, describing “the strategy followed by Hamas” as “moving the fighting to populated civilian areas and using civilians as human shields.”
As usual, American officials repeated the allegations of Israeli officials. Although these allegations are made by a party that is a party to the conflict and an opponent. In 2018, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, accused Hamas of using children as “human shields,” following the killing of dozens of Palestinians during demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, which is exactly the behavior we are witnessing in the ongoing war.
- The second matter: In contrast to the above, there are numerous reports issued by international and independent institutions and organizations concerned with human rights, which documented Israel’s use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in its previous security and military activities. In fact, Israel has also used Palestinian children in its attacks on Gaza. And the occupied West Bank. Years ago, UNICEF, the organization for the protection and care of children, had prepared a draft report condemning Israel, which, as usual, angered Israel and it launched a severe attack on the UN organization.
In the Second Palestinian Intifada (2000-2005), Israeli forces used Palestinian civilians as human shields on about 1,200 occasions, according to Israeli officials, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. In the 2008-2009 Gaza war, Amnesty International and Breaking the Silence accused Israel of using civilians and children as human shields. To protect the position of forces during incursions into the Gaza Strip, and to walk in front of military vehicles when storming a house believed to be booby-trapped. In the war on Gaza in 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council accused Israel of continuing to use Palestinian children as human shields and forcing them to work as guides.
Despite the proven facts – in one of which an Israeli court ruling was issued against two soldiers who used a Palestinian child as a human shield – the Israeli allegations were repeated and adopted by Western officials without being held accountable. This is due – as previously mentioned – to achieving political and military goals, which are liberation from… The restrictions imposed by international humanitarian law in war, most notably the principle of distinction between civilians and military personnel; Especially in an unconventional war taking place inside cities, against a movement that is neither a state nor a regular army, and in an area classified as one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hence, the “human shields” claim constituted a necessity for the Israeli army and its supporters to justify this war, and grant the army freedom. Greater in movement to achieve his material goals; Despite the occurrence of thousands of civilian casualties, especially children and women.
Whoever uses human shields usually resorts to them to force his opponent to resort to self-controls that he imposes on himself. To ensure compliance with international humanitarian law, and in this way to curb military counter-action, reduce the effectiveness of the enemy’s behavior, and thus hinder him from achieving his desired goals, and protect himself, but in Gaza we are facing a new type of war, which is exploiting the argument of “using human shields.” To serve political and military objectives, and to overcome military tactical difficulties represented by the difficulty of distinguishing between civilian and military; Due to several characteristics that Gaza possesses, I can summarize them as follows:
- The first characteristic: The war in Gaza is taking place in an area with a very high population density, and therefore any military action entails a high humanitarian cost, especially since the Israeli army avoids direct confrontation and relies heavily on the military arsenal and the superior ability to destroy from a distance. .
- The second characteristic: The confrontation here is with an unconventional “enemy,” and thus it is difficult to distinguish fighters from civilians.
- The third characteristic: The nature of the primitive and homemade weapons used by the resistance movements deprives the Israeli army of knowing its details and locations, and thus it loses control in the battle. Especially with regard to the tunnel network, which deprives the Israeli army of the ability to distinguish between military installations and civilian facilities. There are no military installations above ground, nor are there regular platforms for launching missiles. Because it is primitive and mobile.
Together, these characteristics contribute to the complexity of the Israeli war on Gaza, and thus the tactical military problems create legal and ethical problems. Commitment to the principle of distinction between civilian and military will prevent the achievement of the material goals of war. Because destroying the tunnel network, for example, means destroying the dense buildings above it, including the people in them, and therefore the Israelis and their supporters had an urgent need to use the term: “using human shields” here. To achieve a set of goals that are summarized as follows:
- The first: overcoming tactical military problems related to the difficulties of war and the complexities of the enemy and the battlefield, and granting the Israeli army greater freedom of movement to achieve its military goals.
- Second: Deviating from the traditional and legal meaning of the idea of a “human shield,” and calling resistance tactics, most notably tunnels, “human shields.” Just because the Israeli army is unable to distinguish between civilian and military, or identify the enemy's military targets; Then he threw the ball into Hamas' court. To cover up his military and intelligence inability.
- Third: shielding himself with a legal and moral cover that he imagines will absolve him of the responsibility for killing this huge number of civilians, and hold the Hamas movement responsible in return. Because it is not fighting in a clear and open way for the Israeli army, so that it can easily target it, while the issue is related to a catastrophic failure of the Israeli army. Because it is unable to precisely define its goals, nor is it capable of adhering to international humanitarian law in war (especially the protection of civilians).
The result was this huge number of civilian casualties, causing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, and then creating several justifications for targeting civilian facilities, especially hospitals and schools. These fabricated explanations include, for example, Hamas launching its rockets from civilian areas. Also including: using some hospitals for military purposes.
In the war on Gaza in 2014, Al-Wafa Hospital was one of the Israeli targets. Under the pretext that it is the “command center” of Hamas, and in the war on Gaza in 2023, Al-Shifa Hospital was one of the most prominent Israeli targets. Under the pretext that it is the “command center” of Hamas!
All of these false pretexts and arguments are intended to cover up Israel's military failure in facing the tactical military difficulties in this war. But the very high human cost in this war takes us to another level of discussion, which is the legal and moral debate regarding “human shields,” which I will address in the next article, God willing.
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