The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has revealed that the Israeli army has been using Palestinian civilians as human shields and forcing some of them to carry out military tasks that pose real risks to their lives.
In a statement on Monday, the human rights monitor documented dozens of instances proving that the Israeli army has extensively used Palestinian civilians as human shields.
The statement detailed, “The occupation army forced civilians to enter buildings or tunnels or search for explosives and potential tunnels. They also detained others in homes and sites within conflict zones, endangering their lives.”
The monitor warned that the “horrifying scenes” broadcast by Al Jazeera reflect the “inhuman and brutal behavior” of the Israeli army and a “blatant violation” of the rules of war and international humanitarian law.
The monitor added, “These scenes, along with dozens of similar cases, require urgent action from the international justice system to ensure the protection of civilians and prevent their use as human shields.”
The Euro-Med called for holding the Israeli political and military leadership accountable for these serious crimes.
The statement continued, “International judicial accountability for the perpetrators of these crimes must be activated, and justice must be achieved for the victims in compliance with the Rome Statute, which affirms that using civilians as human shields is a war crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.”
The monitor noted that the “Israeli army’s use of civilians as human shields is not limited to the Gaza Strip. We have documented many similar cases in the West Bank, reflecting a long-standing policy.”
It also mentioned that the Israeli army had previously used Palestinian civilians as human shields during the 2014 war.
The statement clarified that “international humanitarian law absolutely prohibits the use of civilians as human shields during armed conflicts, considering them persons protected by its customary and written rules.”
Since Israel unleashed a war on the besieged Gaza Strip in early October 2023, casualties have been rising as a result of intensified near-daily Israeli raids into villages and cities in the occupied territories.
At least 37,877 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have also been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past eight months during the regime’s genocidal war.
