IDF video: Child allegedly used as ‘human shield’ to move weapons in Gaza | Today’s news
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released aerial footage showing a Hamas terrorist using a small child to transport weapons into a civilian home in central Gaza, claiming the child was being used as a human shield to deflect an Israeli strike.
The 28-second video released by the IDF on September 27 appears to show a person walking through a residential area before approaching a civilian property. One of the figures appears to be a young boy carrying what the Israeli military has identified as a weapon as a suspected militant walks nearby.
The identity of those depicted, their intentions and the nature of what they were carrying could not be independently verified.
What does the IDF video show?
According to the Israeli army, its units operating in central Gaza have identified a militant who is using a child to move weapons into a civilian home.
The footage shows the child struggling under the weight of a large firearm. At one point, the boy appears to stagger while carrying a gun while another figure leads him down the street. The pair eventually approach a fortified residential property.
The IDF said the weapons were moved to a civilian home in preparation for attacks against Israeli soldiers operating near the so-called Yellow Line and Israeli civilians.
The IDF says it has refrained from striking
The Israeli military said the child’s presence influenced its decision to use force.
“After discovering the presence of the child, the IDF refrained from any strikes against the terrorists,” the military said in a statement on the video.
The IDF described the incident as an example of what it called the systematic exploitation of children by armed groups in Gaza.
It claimed that the child was deliberately placed in the weapons transfer operation because his presence could prevent Israeli forces from attacking the militant or the weapons.
The IDF is a broader accusation of human shields
The incident comes amid long-standing Israeli accusations that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups operate from densely populated civilian areas in Gaza.
The IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas of placing military infrastructure and weapons near civilian homes and other civilian sites. In this case, however, it is a concrete claim that a child was actively used to transport weapons to a civilian residence.
This allegation is particularly significant because international humanitarian law prohibits parties to a conflict from deliberately using civilians to protect military objectives or operations. At the same time, the presence of civilians does not relieve the attacking force of the obligation to protect civilians and take preventive measures during military operations.
