Editing Human shield (section)

==== 2023 Israel–Gaza War ====
{{Main|Human shields in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}
{{Seealso|Attacks on health facilities during the Gaza war|Attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza|Attacks on refugee camps in the Gaza war}}

[[Hamas]] has been accused of using [[Human shields in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|human shields]] in the [[Gaza Strip]], purposely attempting to shield itself from Israeli attacks by storing weapons in civilian infrastructure, launching rockets from residential areas, and telling residents to ignore Israeli warnings to flee. Israel has accused Hamas of maintaining command and control bunkers and [[Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip|tunnel infrastructure]] below hospitals, with some of the accusations being supported by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations Secretary General. Hamas has denied using civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals,<ref>{{cite web |last=Marsi |first=Federica |date=November 13, 2023 |title=What is a 'human shield' and why is Israel using the term in Gaza? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/13/what-is-a-human-shield-and-why-is-israel-using-the-term-in-gaza |access-date=December 6, 2023 |website=Al Jazeera}}</ref> as human shields.<ref>{{cite news |date=6 August 2009 |title=Hamas rocket attacks 'war crimes' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8187446.stm |quote="Hamas did not use human shields and did not fire rockets from residential areas," he said. "Hamas does not target civilians."}}</ref>

Israel has said that Hamas's actions have caused Israel to kill civilians as collateral damage.<ref>{{cite web |last=Walsh |first=Declan |date=May 16, 2021 |title=Israel and Hamas Fighting Raises Questions about War Crimes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/16/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-hamas-civilian-casualties.html |access-date=December 6, 2023 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> Human rights groups have said that "even if Hamas were using human shields", Israel must still abide by [[international law]], especially the principle of [[Proportionality (International Humanitarian Law)|proportionality]].<ref name="ai2014">{{cite web |date=July 25, 2014 |title=Israel/Gaza conflict: Questions and Answers |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/07/israelgaza-conflict-questions-and-answers/ |access-date=December 6, 2023 |website=Amnesty International}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Protect civilians from the impact of hostilities |date=27 October 2023 |website=B'tselem |url=http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20231027_protect_civilians_from_the_impact_of_hostilities}}</ref>

According to Israeli professor [[Neve Gordon]], co-author with Nicola Perugini of ''Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire'' there is a double standard, with Israel blaming Hamas for using human shields whereas the Israeli civilians living near military bases, including those in central [[Tel Aviv]] and [[Beer Sheba]], are not considered human shields.<ref>{{cite news |title=In the line of fire: In Gaza, anyone can wind up a 'human shield' |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/israel-hamas-gaza-human-shields-1.7103756 |work=CBC News |date=4 February 2024}}</ref> In November 2023, Cambridge University professor [[Marc Weller (professor)|Marc Weller]] said that "The very fact that we have seen 44 [Israeli] soldiers killed in [the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip] and almost 11,000 [Palestinian] civilians gives an indication that the calculation of [[proportionality (international humanitarian law)|proportionality]] in Gaza has left the bounds of reasonableness."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marsi |first1=Federica |title=What is a 'human shield' and why is Israel using the term in Gaza? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/13/what-is-a-human-shield-and-why-is-israel-using-the-term-in-gaza |work=Al Jazeera |date=13 November 2023}}</ref>

Scholars [[Nicola Perugini]] and Neve Gordon argue that Israel's accusations against Palestinian resistance groups of using civilians in hospitals and other civilian structures have been used to justify the calculated destruction of the entire Palestinian healthcare infrastructure in Gaza to create conditions of life leading to the destruction of Gaza Palestinians as a group,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Perugini |first1=Nicola |last2=Gordon |first2=Neve |date=2024-01-02 |title=Medical Lawfare: The Nakba and Israel's Attacks on Palestinian Healthcare |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=68–91 |doi=10.1080/0377919X.2024.2330366 |issn=0377-919X|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Medicide" in Gaza and International Law: Time for Banning the Bombing of Hospitals {{!}} Documenting the Targeting and Destruction of the Health Sector in the Gaza Strip |url=https://gazahcsector.palestine-studies.org/en/node/2684 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=gazahcsector.palestine-studies.org |language=en}}</ref> as also corroborated in the UN report ''Anatomy of Genocide''<ref>{{Cite web |last=M.I |title=Anatomy of a Genocide - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 to Human Rights Council - Advance unedited version (A/HRC/55/73) |url=https://www.un.org/unispal/document/anatomy-of-a-genocide-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territory-occupied-since-1967-to-human-rights-council-advance-unedited-version-a-hrc-55/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Question of Palestine |language=en-US}}</ref> and in the March 2024 UN Commission of Investigation Report.<ref>{{Cite web |title="More than a human can bear": Israel's systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since October 2023 |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/more-human-can-bear-israels-systematic-use-sexual-reproductive-and-other |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=OHCHR |language=en}}</ref> In an article in ''Jewish Currents'', Perugini and Gordon maintain that the accusation of using human shields has been employed by Israel against the Palestinian population of Gaza to justify genocidal acts of violence,<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Legal Justification for Genocide |url=https://jewishcurrents.org/human-shields-gaza-israel-a-legal-justification-for-genocide |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Jewish Currents |language=en}}</ref> which have been under investigation at the International Court of Justice since December 2023 in the case of South Africa vs. Israel for violations of the Genocide Convention.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (Sou |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=www.icj-cij.org}}</ref>

The Israeli Defense Forces have been accused of using Palestinians as human shields. On 17 January 2024, Israeli soldiers were recorded using a Palestinian shop-owner in [[Dura, Hebron]], West Bank, as a human shield.<ref>{{cite web |title=Palestinian shop-owner used as human shield by Israeli forces |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/1/17/palestinian-shop-owner-used-as-human-shield-by-israeli-forces#:~:text=A%20Palestinian%20shop%2Downer%20was,there%20for%20almost%20two%20decades. |website=Al Jazeera |date=17 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Shawer |first1=Mosab |title=West Bank human shield describes '100 breathless minutes' held by Israel |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/1/31/west-bank-human-shield-describes-100-breathless-minutes-held-by-israel |website=Al Jazeera |date=31 January 2024}}</ref> A 21-year-old man from [[Gaza City]] stated to ''Al Jazeera'' that he had been used as a human shield by Israeli forces.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Humaid |first1=Maram |title='Beaten, stripped, used as human shield': Gaza victim recalls Israel terror |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/23/beaten-stripped-used-as-a-human-shield-gaza-man-recounts-israel-terror |website=Al Jazeera |date=23 February 2024}}</ref> According to [[Haaretz]], ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' investigations based on many Israeli soldiers' testimonies, Palestinian teenagers and adults are regularly used as human shields in exploring the tunnel network in the Gaza Strip.<ref name="Haaretz24">Yaniv Kubovich, Michael Hauser Tov, [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-08-13/ty-article-magazine/.premium/idf-uses-gazan-civilians-as-human-shields-to-inspect-potentially-booby-trapped-tunnels/00000191-4c84-d7fd-a7f5-7db6b99e0000 Haaretz Investigation: Israeli Army Uses Palestinian Civilians to Inspect Potentially Booby-trapped Tunnels in Gaza] [[Haaretz]] 13 August 2024</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last1=Odenheimer |first1=Natan |last2=Shbair |first2=Bilal |last3=Kingsley |first3=Patrick |date=October 14, 2024 |title=How Israel's Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-military-human-shields.html |access-date=October 16, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Loveluck |first1=Louisa |last2=Harb |first2=Hajar |last3=Hudson |first3=John |title=Israeli forces used civilians as human shields in Gaza, Palestinians and soldiers say |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/03/israel-gaza-human-shields-palestinians-idf/ |access-date=4 November 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> In November 2024, [[Defence for Children International]] reported on three separate incidents, during October 15-20, 2024, of families with young children being used as human shields to protect the [[Israel Defense Forces]] in attacks at the [[Jabalia refugee camp]] and [[Indonesia Hospital]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli forces use Palestinian children as human shields in Jabalia refugee camp |url=https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_use_palestinian_children_as_human_shields_in_jabalia_refugee_camp |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Defense for Children Palestine}}</ref>