Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian civilians in Gaza to serve as human shields during military operations, endangering the latter's lives and violating international law.
The Military Advocate General launched an investigation after a Red Cross report released in January highlighted the phenomenon.
Haaretz first reported on this practice in August 2024, revealing the method was widely used in Gaza to force noncombatants to perform military tasks. Soldiers refer to each of the Palestinians as shawish, an obscure Arabic term of Turkish origin that means "sergeant."
Haaretz has learned that even after the August report, testimonies continued to emerge regarding the army's ongoing exploitation of civilians in Gaza, extending up until January when the Red Cross report was released.
In its August response to Haaretz, the Israel Defense Forces stated that the matter was under review. However, the army's official investigation is being conducted only now, following the publication of a Red Cross report and increased pressure in recent months from NGOs and foreign governments, including the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden and the British government, which have examined the allegations.
In addition to the cases documented in the Red Cross report and further testimonies received by the Military Police, the investigation also covers incidents involving Israeli soldiers along Gaza's Netzarim Corridor, which were also reported by Haaretz. These incidents raise concerns that senior IDF officials adopted a policy of indiscriminate killing, routinely classifying civilian casualties as terrorists along the southern Gaza route, in violation of the laws of war and the Geneva Convention.
The Red Cross report, submitted to the outgoing chief of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, includes testimonies from Palestinian civilians in Gaza who were coerced into serving as human shields for soldiers during military operations. A number of these civilians reported being threatened that they and their families would face harm if they refused. Some accounts are supported by video footage and photographs that document the tasks they were forced to perform.
The investigative team found the testimonies credible in at least nine cases, documented between December 2023 and January 2025. An Haaretz investigation revealed that soldiers from multiple infantry units reported witnessing the practice in action. The report concluded that the Nahal, Givati, and Commando brigades were responsible for most of the verified incidents.
A similar pattern emerges in all the investigated cases regarding the use of civilians in Gaza: the IDF detained these Palestinians for periods ranging from days to weeks, forced them to participate in operations under threat, subjected them to physical and mental abuse and then released them back to the Strip.
Some of these civilians were later arrested and transferred to Israel, while others were wounded during the operations. To date, it remains unclear whether any of them were killed. Initially, the civilians were ordered to set fire to residential buildings, apartments and warehouses. At times, they were also instructed to enter the burning buildings to ensure the fire spread throughout. If the fire did not spread, their task was to ignite the entire structure.
As the war progressed, the use of the so-called shawish practice became more prevalent due to several factors. Many dogs in the army's Oketz unit were killed and others experienced a decline in their operational senses. Additionally, combat engineers who specialized in bomb disposal were redeployed to Lebanon, while heavy engineering equipment was decommissioned, and a shortage of professional drivers was experienced.
All these tasks were taken over by Palestinian noncombatants in Gaza, chosen at random by the soldiers, who were also assigned to plant explosives in civilian buildings and Hamas targets that the IDF sought to destroy.
At times, civilians were required to check for militants or explosives in Hamas tunnels. In some cases, according to testimonies, they planted explosives to destroy infrastructure, without protection or basic knowledge of explosive devices.
The civilians were also sent by soldiers to medical clinics, hospitals and humanitarian aid facilities to report on potential militants present there. The IDF would dress them in medical staff uniforms and send them into these institutions. Haaretz has learned that, in at least one instance, a civilian was shot by militants in a hospital after they suspected he was collaborating with Israeli forces. His fate remains unclear.
In other incidents, civilians were tasked with documentation and photography duties in preparation for mapping buildings to be demolished. At times, they also served as IDF interpreters and accompanied the forces while wearing army uniforms.
According to all the civilians who testified about the soldiers' actions, the troops threatened them and their families if they refused to cooperate. During the time the soldiers spent in their apartments, the civilians were handcuffed and shackled, and their eyes were covered.
The Red Cross report says that the civilians endured violence and humiliation and were even denied food and water by the troops. Investigators noted one incident in which a civilian was shot in the back and wounded when he refused a soldier's request to enter a compound suspected of being booby-trapped, where armed militants were also present.
Senior Israeli defense officials, the IDF Chief of Staff, the commander of the Southern Command, and the military prosecution were aware of the phenomenon.
According to a soldier who spoke to Haaretz in August, senior army officials "know that it's not a one-time incident of a young and stupid company commander who decides on his own" to use a civilian. "It's done with the knowledge of the brigade commander, at the least."
Many soldiers felt uncomfortable with the practice, demanded answers and even protested loudly, but the commanders prevented any discussion of its moral implications.
"Our lives are more important than their lives," the soldiers were told. One of them said that the commanders turned to one of the soldiers and told him, "You don't agree that the lives of your friends are much more important than their lives? And isn't it better that our friends will live and not be blown up by an explosive device, and that they get blown up by an explosive device?"
The testimonies revealed that those who raised objections against the practice were often silenced by senior commanders and considered disruptive to the conduct of the fighting and protection of the troops.
One soldier described how two civilians were brought to his unit: "About five months ago, two Palestinians were brought to us. One was 20 and the other was 16. We were told: 'Use them, they're Gazans, use them as human shields,'" he said.
According to the soldier, when one of his comrades raised the issue with the commander, the latter replied: "Don't you agree that the lives of your comrades are far more important than their lives?"
A soldier in a conscript army brigade told Haaretz of another instance where he was involved in using civilians in his unit. "In some units, we call them 'platforms,'" he said. "They are civilians who aren't suspected of anything. They're not taken for interrogation and it's unclear to us how they are selected."
According to the soldier, these Palestinians are sometimes used by the army for extended periods, being transferred from unit to unit. They sleep in stairwells of military buildings and are typically guarded by the troops. They eat only on rare occasions and carry heavy loads for the forces.
"They endure violence regularly, especially when they're new and need to be broken," the soldier added. "But even when they're seasoned, they still suffer violence and humiliation, often by the officers."
"A commander will walk by them in a stairwell and casually knock his helmet against their heads. A soldier who hears something or simply gets frustrated can approach them and beat them, all in front of senior officers. Nearly every unit has a shawish," he said.
The Red Cross declined to comment. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in response that the army operates in accordance with international law and military values, strictly prohibiting the use of human shields or forcing civilians to participate in military operations.
According to the statement, allegations of violations of these procedures are being investigated. In several cases, the Military Police have opened investigations "following suspicions of utilizing Palestinians for military tasks during combat," it added.
