An investigative report published Monday morning on the front page of The New York Times shows how IDF soldiers allegedly use Palestinians as human shields during operations in Gaza.
The article describes how Palestinian civilians were taken from their homes, forced to enter booby-trapped structures or scan Hamas tunnels to prevent harm to IDF soldiers.
The investigation, it is important to note, appears as the main story on the cover of the newspaper, while the article about the deadly drone attack at Golani Hospital appears as second to it.
Most of the space on the homepage of the newspaper's website is occupied by another video article comparing the public transportation routes of Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank – the latter of which, according to the newspaper, are forced to bypass checkpoints and roads without access.
The article, which is a continuation of an investigation published in Haaretz, interviewed 16 current and former Israeli soldiers and military officials who were "familiar with the practice," as well as three Palestinians who said they were forced to take part. One of them, Muhammad Shubair, who was 17 at the time, described being forced to walk with his hands tied through the rubble of Khan Yunis, in front of IDF forces, in search of IEDs. He said he was sent to a booby-trapped apartment as a "dog" and his life was in real danger when he noticed wires attached to explosives.
The IDF, for its part, responded by saying that it absolutely prohibited the use of civilians for military purposes, and that it would examine the cases raised in the investigation. The article notes that there was no evidence of physical harm to detainees during their use as human shields – except in a case in which an IDF officer was killed following a detainee who did not notice, or did not report, a Hamas militant hiding in one of the buildings.
