Harrowing Details – This is How Israel Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza
Former Palestinian detainee Talal al-Za’anin reveals he was used as a human shield by Israeli forces—corroborating an AP report exposing the practice as systematic and command-sanctioned.
Talal al-Za’anin, a former Palestinian detainee, has revealed that the Israeli occupation army used him and other detainees as human shields during military operations in northern Gaza.
His testimony emerges on the very day the Associated Press published a damning report documenting the systematic use of this tactic by Israeli forces.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, al-Za’anin recounted how Israeli soldiers transferred him and around 50 detainees, including women and children, from Beit Hanoun to other areas before releasing most, but keeping seven in custody.
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
Two were deported to Israel, while the remaining five, including al-Za’anin, were blindfolded, transported in a tank, and taken to a military camp.
Later that evening, the five were forced to accompany Israeli soldiers back to Beit Hanoun, where they were handed quadcopter drones and ordered to conduct building searches. Despite their refusal, al-Za’anin said an officer insisted: “This is their job and they will do it.”
He was made to search a school near the Beit Hanoun Bridge. While ascending to the upper floors, he came under fire. The Israeli officer accompanying him reprimanded the shooter, who had missed a Palestinian fighter, and ordered al-Za’anin to continue the mission.
He later spent the night inside a classroom with 50 Israeli soldiers. The next morning, he was again sent to inspect another house, ordered to check closets, washing machines, and other areas for explosives. “They were using us to clear houses suspected of being booby-trapped,” he said.
Why the World is Silent on Gaza Genocide, and Sometimes Worse When It Speaks
Al-Za’anin emphasized that detainees brought to Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Al-Ezba were consistently used as human shields, and that soldiers only targeted homes they suspected contained explosives.
Over the course of 14 days, he was shot at four times and at one point discovered a shell in a house. A soldier told him the device had been spotted by a drone and threatened to kill him if he hadn’t reported it. When al-Za’anin refused to defuse the shell, soldiers tried to force another detainee to do so — he also refused.
Following his release, al-Za’anin was re-arrested by Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun. One officer ordered his execution, but another contacted Unit 40, who confirmed al-Za’anin had been under their command, and ordered his release.
The soldiers handed him a crutch for his injured leg and a strip of cloth to wave at other Israeli units. Nonetheless, two tanks opened fire on him. He was hit in the shoulder and arm.
When he reached the Civil Administration headquarters, he was denied medical care, stripped of his clothes, and abandoned — nearly mauled by stray dogs.
AP Investigation: Israeli Units Ordered to Use Civilians as Human Shields in Gaza
His testimony reinforces the findings of the Associated Press, which on the same day published a deeply sourced investigation based on interviews with Israeli soldiers and officers. According to AP, these orders were not isolated but issued by senior commanders, with virtually every field battalion participating in the practice.
Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, which gathers testimonies from former soldiers, said these accounts point to a systemic failure and a profound moral collapse in the Israeli military.
International humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions explicitly ban the use of civilians as human shields. But both al-Za’anin’s experience and the AP report confirm this war crime is widespread, deliberate, and state-sanctioned.
(PC, AJA)
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