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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Malak A Tantesh in Gaza, Julian Borger and Sufian Taha in Jerusalem

Palestinians describe being used as ‘human shields’ by Israeli troops in Gaza

IDF Gaza United Nations Israel BTS Hamas Nadav Weiman Shujaiya Haaretz
Israeli forces overlooking the destroyed Shuja’iya neighbourhood
Israeli forces overlooking Shuja’iya, where Ramez al-Skafi says he was forced to search houses and relay information to soldiers. Photograph: Atef Safadi/EPA

After they burned down his family home in northern Gaza, Israeli troops separated Ramez al-Skafi from his family and detained him. They had a particular job in mind for him, he said.

For the next 11 days in early July, the 30-year-old Palestinian said he was sent into one house after another in his home district, Shuja’iya, watched by his Israeli military minders. According to the account he gave the Guardian, they turned him into a human shield against booby-traps and Hamas gunmen.

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