Palestinian used as human shield shot dead by Israeli commander in Gaza

An Israeli army commander shot dead a Palestinian man used as a human shield in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, according to Israeli media on Wednesday.

The Palestinian was forced to serve as a human shield by Israeli occupation forces to search buildings in Khan Younis when he was shot and killed by an army commander, said the independent Hebrew-language investigative journalism website The Hottest Place in Hell.

The Palestinian was permitted to be in the area, but a commander in the army’s Nahal Brigade arrived, identified the man as Palestinian, took out a rifle and shot him dead.

The report suggested that the army commander did not know that the Palestinian man was authorised to be inside the building being searched.

The Israeli army confirmed the killing and launched an investigation into the incident. “The incident was investigated by the brigade commander, and the findings have been implemented during troops’ current operations,” it said.

Talal Al-Zaanin, who was abducted from North Gaza and used as a human shield by Israeli forces for 12 days, was released today. He was let go after developing a leg injury that caused him to limp, rendering him
“useless” to his captors. Talal received initial treatment at the… pic.twitter.com/LWlB3JmGPY

— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) January 7, 2025

In August, the Israeli daily Haaretz confirmed that the Israeli army has used Palestinians as human shields for soldiers to search buildings in Gaza before entering them. “Our lives are more important than their lives,” soldiers were told.

The occupation army has used Palestinians as human shields during its military operations in the occupied territories for many years. The policy called “the neighbour procedure” was first implemented in 2002 in the occupied West Bank.

The Zionist regime is continuing its genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that has killed almost 46,000 people, mostly women and children, since 7 October, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

READ: Israel wants to turn occupied West Bank into rubble like Gaza, says Haaretz