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Israeli military's use of Palestinians as human shields in Gaza is systematic, says Osint report
Israeli military has been found to systematically use Palestinians as human shields in Gaza and West Bank. AI-generated image via DALL-E
A growing body of visual evidence from both Gaza and the West Bank shows Palestinian civilians being used as human shields during ongoing Israeli military operations, finds an open source intelligence (Osint) report. It has cited multiple videos circulating online, showing blindfolded and restrained individuals, who are placed in close proximity to soldiers, or even tied to the front of military vehicles during active missions.
The clips, which span several locations across Palestinian territories under Israeli control, depict a troubling consistency: unarmed individuals are bound, hooded, or made to wear military-style vests while positioned at the forefront of advancing units, the report says.
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These images have sparked outrage on social media, with many describing them as a flagrant violation of the laws of war.
The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), an independent investigative group, has confirmed the authenticity of several of these videos. CIR's open-source intelligence (Osint) team employed geolocation, drone footage analysis, and cross-platform video comparisons to confirm where and when these incidents occurred.
Shocking documentation obtained by [@AJENews] originating from an Israeli drone showing the use of a Palestinian civilian as a human shield in Shujjaia Neighborhood, East Gaza city last December to search after militants, the man is being monitored by drones the whole time pic.twitter.com/ZdZ4HSS7tb — Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) May 2, 2024
Patterns across territories
One clip shows a man strapped to the bonnet of an armoured vehicle as it drives through a residential street.
Another features several bound men flanked by soldiers, some of whom appear to be directing or shielding fire.
In a separate sequence, drone footage captures a blindfolded man in a combat zone while Israeli troops take cover behind him.
Stills taken from footage posted on 22 June 2024 show an individual being driven on the bonnet of an Israeli military vehicle. Image courtesy: CIR
One particularly graphic video clip showed a stripped, injured man with his hands bound behind his back man with at least six armed IDF soldiers standing beside an armoured vehicle.
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The man had red circular lesions throughout his body, including on his neck, torso, and right thigh, which were assessed as consistent with wounds caused by airsoft and pellet guns.
READ MORE: Body as battlefield: How Israel and Hamas top brass 'authorised' use of rape, sexual violence
The detained individual is seen entering a damaged residential building and is followed up a stairwell by a soldier holding a flashlight.
In each of these cases, CIR was able to match specific architectural features, road layouts, and environmental conditions to verify the location. This mapping confirmed that the events occurred not only in Gaza, but also in areas of the West Bank such as Jenin and Nablus, pointing to a broader operational trend rather than isolated misconduct.
Digital verification and online traces
CIR's analysts relied on real-time social media posts, often made within minutes or hours of the actual incidents. Metadata, shadow analysis, and satellite imagery were used to corroborate these posts. The circulation of these videos on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) provided both a distribution channel and a timestamped archive for investigators to assess.
CIR's findings add weight to previous reports, including one by _The Associated Press_ that presented accounts of seven Palestinians who had been used as human shields to make sure areas were clear of bombs and gunmen.
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Under international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, the use of human shields is explicitly prohibited and considered a war crime.
As fighting continues and civilian protections appear increasingly eroded, these visuals, combined with geospatial data, provide a chilling look into the tactics employed on the ground.
(With inputs from agencies)
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