Israeli soldier: ‘We use children as human shields in Gaza’

The New Arab Staff
Jul 23, 2025
New testimony by a soldier reveals that teenagers are being used as human shields by Israeli forces, being forced to find explosives
Using civilians as human shields is illegal under international law [Getty]
Fresh testimony from an Israeli soldier has revealed that troops were implicated in war crimes in Gaza, including the targeting of civilians with live fire and the use of children as human shields
The soldier, referred to anonymously as ‘N’, told the Israeli newsppaer Yedioth Ahronoth that the commander of his unit had allowed troops to fire on civilians – including children and the elderly – for days while stationed outside a hospital.
“Some of them acted out of revenge, some were scared, and some were simply exhausted. When you’re exhausted you don’t think,” he told the outlet.
The soldier also recalled how his unit abducted two teenagers from one of Gaza’s so-called humanitarian corridors and used them as human shields.
He described how they were blindfolded, handcuffed and forced to enter buildings Israeli forces believed may be boobytrapped or contain gunmen.
The use of civilians as human shields is illegal under international law.
“What is really happening is that we are harming tens of thousands of civilians and also the [Israeli] hostages,” Yedioth Ahronoth quoted him as saying.
“[The government] puts you in danger, your friends are killed, and you do more evil than good. You feel that you are being betrayed.”
The article is the latest in growing number of reports from Israel featuring testimony from soldiers speaking about war crimes being committed against Palestinians in Gaza.
Haaretz has published a number of investigations in recent months providing evidence of atrocities carried by Israeli forces.
An expose in June featured claims from soldiers that they had been ordered to deliberately fire at civilians. Last year it reported on the military’s use of Palestinians as human shields to search for explosive devices.
Leaked footage published by Al Jazeera last year showed Israeli soldiers forcing a semi-naked Palestinian man to search for explosives, while his hands were tied behind his back.
There are hundreds of other eyewitness testimonies of Palestinians being used as human shields by Israeli forces, including those documented by Israeli human rights monitor B’tselem.

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