Human shields in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The accusation of the use of human shields is a common theme in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and Palestinian militant groups (including Hamas) have used civilians as human shields to discourage the opposing side from attacking. Many activists have often voluntarily used themselves as human shields to stop Israeli violence against Palestinians: these include the International Solidarity Movement, and Israeli leftists.

The Israeli Defense Forces have been accused to use Palestinians as human shields. According to B'Tselem, IDF soldiers put Palestinian civilians in front of them or otherwise putting civilians in the line of fire, and forcing Palestinians to remove suspicious objects (possible explosives). IDF soldiers also force Palestinian civilians to walk through suspected booby-trapped buildings. Israel also formerly employed the "neighbor procedure" in which Palestinian civilians were forced to attempt to persuade wanted individuals to surrender themselves to the IDF. The latter practice was defended by the Israeli defense ministry, but prohibited in 2005 by the Israeli Supreme Court, though there have been accusations of its employment even after the ruling. During the 2009 invasion of Gaza, IDF reportedly used Palestinian families (both adult and children) as human shields.

Hamas has also been accused of using human shields strategically by NATO, the UN, EU, US, Israel, and several European countries. For example, in January 2024, Macron accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields and said Israel had the right to defend itself. This strategy has included launching rockets and positioning military infrastructure in civilian areas, and aimed at exploiting Israel's efforts to minimize civilian casualties and Western public opinion, has been observed in various conflicts, including the 2008, 2014, and 2023 Israel-Hamas wars. For Example, Hamas positioned military infrastructure next to civilian buildings like kindergartens and hospitals, and have used places like the al-Shifa hospital compound for military purposes. These actions have been criticized by various international bodies, including Amnesty International, which has documented instances where Palestinian militias stored munitions in and launched rockets from civilian structures, thereby endangering civilian lives during conflicts. This tactic of human shields has been cited as a form of 'lawfare' by NATO, utilizing legal and public platforms to challenge adversaries, and has been offered as an explanation for Israel's attacks on civilian infrastructure. Human rights organizations have however found the accusations against Hamas in past conflicts to have been unfounded, with Amnesty International saying it had found no evidence of human shielding by Hamas in the 2008-2009 war and the 2014 war.