RAMALLAH, Tuesday, August 13, 2024 (WAFA) – An investigation conducted by the Israeli daily newspaper, Haaretz, revealed that the Israeli army uses Palestinian civilians to inspect potentially booby-trapped tunnels in Gaza.

At first, it's hard to recognize them. They're usually wearing Israeli army uniforms, many of them are in their 20s, and they're always with Israeli soldiers of various ranks, said Haaretz.

“But if you look more closely, you see that most of them are wearing sneakers, not army boots. And their hands are cuffed behind their backs and their faces are full of fear.”

The soldiers call each of them a shawish, an obscure Arabic word of Turkish origin meaning sergeant. Random Palestinians have been used by Israeli army units in Gaza for one purpose: to serve as human shields for soldiers during operations, it said.

"Our lives are more important than their lives," soldiers were told. The thinking is that it's better for the Israeli soldiers to remain alive and for the shawishim to be the ones blown up by an explosive device, added Haaretz.

Gazans not suspected of terrorism are detained and sent as human shields to search tunnels and houses before Israeli soldiers enter, with the full knowledge of senior Israeli officers, several sources say.

This description is one of many obtained by Haaretz, some from combat soldiers, others from commanders. The picture that emerges: In recent months, Israeli soldiers used human shields in this way all over Gaza; even the chief of staff's office knows,” revealed Haaretz.

T.R.