Army's every day tactic to use Palestinians as human shields, Israeli officer admits

An Israeli military officer disclosed Thursday that the army uses Palestinians as human shields at least six times daily in the Gaza Strip, an illegal tactic under international law.

The officer, who wrote anonymously in the Haaretz newspaper, criticized military police for opening just six investigations into the practice.

“I nearly choked when I learned the military police launched only six probes into using Palestinians as human shields,” wrote the officer.

“In Gaza, it happens at least six times a day,” he said. “If the authorities were serious, they'd need to open at least 2,190 investigations.”

He argued that announcing probes is a superficial attempt “to tell ourselves and the world we're investigating ourselves.”

The officer, who served nine months in Gaza, described a procedure dubbed “mosquito procedure,” where Palestinians are forced to enter and clear homes --checking for gunmen or explosives.

“I first encountered this in December 2023, two months into the ground offensive, unaware then how common it was,” he said.

Soldiers nickname Palestinians in the “mosquito procedure” as “shawish.”

“Today, nearly every platoon has a shawish. No infantry unit enters a house before a shawish clears it,” the officer added.

He claimed senior command has known about the practice for more than a year, deeming it an “operational necessity” and “no one tried to stop it.”

Referencing the International Criminal Court (ICC), he warned, “We've every reason to worry about The Hague. This is a crime (human shields) -- even the army admits it -- and it's far more widespread than the public knows.”

Israel's nearly 20-year blockade has turned Gaza into the world's largest prison, leaving 1.5 million of its 2.4 million residents homeless amid deliberate shortages of food, water, and medicine following a genocide.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, which took hold in January, has halted Israel's genocidal onslaught on Gaza, which has killed more than 48,500 victims, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.