Israeli forces used 80-year-old Palestinian as human shield before killing him

A report released by the Israeli news website HaMakom has revealed that the Israeli army forced an elderly Palestinian man to act as a human shield in the Gaza Strip and subsequently killed him and his wife. According to the report, the Israeli army strapped explosives to the man's neck and coerced him into conducting searches, demonstrating a blatant disregard for human life.

The unnamed Palestinian man was believed to be over 80 years old. The Israeli army allegedly threatened that if he did not carry out the search mission, they would detonate the bomb and blow off his head. The incident reportedly occurred last May in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, when multiple Israeli forces gathered near the residence of the elderly Palestinian couple.

HaMakom reported that the Israeli army was launching its third ground attack in the area at the time, following intense fighting with Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. The Nahal Brigade, Carmeli Brigade, and Duvdevan Unit allegedly decided to use the elderly Palestinian man, who needed a cane to walk, as a human shield during their operations.

An Israeli soldier revealed to HaMakom that after placing the explosives on the man's neck, they threatened him, saying, "If he does something wrong or doesn't do it the way we want, the person behind him will pull the rope, and his head will be separated from his body." The soldier added, "He walked with us like that for eight hours, even though he was 80 years old, even though he couldn't escape from us. And he knew there was a soldier behind him who could pull the rope at any moment—he completed the mission."

According to HaMakom, after forcing the elderly man to enter houses and tunnels allegedly used by Hamas, the soldiers ordered him and his wife to go to the al-Mawasi area, a small area only 1 kilometer wide at the time, which was being used to accommodate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. However, other units were not informed that the couple would be heading south, and as a result, they were shot dead less than 100 meters from their departure point. "They just died in the street," another soldier told HaMakom.

HaMakom stated that the decision to use elderly people as human shields is a long-standing tactic known as the "Mosquito Protocol." This protocol involves Israeli soldiers ordering Palestinians to enter potentially booby-trapped locations, such as houses, tunnels, and other buildings, ahead of Israeli forces. Although the scope and scale of such operations are unclear, this practice has reportedly been used repeatedly in Gaza, despite being illegal under Israeli and international law, raising serious concerns about accountability.

The Israeli army has denied using Palestinians as human shields and dismissed allegations of mistreatment of the 80-year-old man, while also denying the existence of the "Mosquito Protocol." However, another Israeli soldier refuted the army's official account and told HaMakom, "The Mosquito Protocol is completely regulated and is a very gray area in the army." He added that despite senior commanders denying the protocol's existence, soldiers operating in Gaza are aware that it is happening, suggesting a disconnect between official policy and on-the-ground realities.