How Israel Uses Palestinian Detainees as Human Shields

Summary

The Daily: How Israel Uses Palestinian Detainees as Human Shields

Release Date: November 27, 2024
Hosts: Sabrina Tavernise and Michael Barbaro
Produced by: The New York Times

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Introduction

In this poignant episode of The Daily, Sabrina Tavernise delves into a harrowing and controversial tactic employed by the Israeli military during the ongoing conflict in Gaza: the use of Palestinian detainees as human shields. This investigative piece uncovers the depths of the practice, its implications under international law, and the broader ramifications for the nature of the conflict.

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Uncovering the Practice

Sabrina Tavernise [00:30]:
Sabrina sets the stage by highlighting recent developments, including a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for prominent Israeli officials. She introduces the central investigation led by journalist Natan Odenheimer into the allegation that the Israeli military is utilizing Palestinian detainees as human shields—a practice that contravenes both Israeli and international law.

Natan Odenheimer [02:14]:
Odenheimer recounts how he inadvertently discovered this disturbing practice in January 2024 when he overheard an Israeli soldier describing the use of Palestinians in Hamas tunnels. Realizing the gravity of the allegation, he pursued the story to determine its prevalence within the Israeli military.

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Investigative Journey

Initial Revelation and Challenges [02:44 - 04:13]:
Odenheimer details his initial encounter with the Israeli soldier and the subsequent hurdles in gathering more information. After a promising start, the soldier recedes, leaving many questions unanswered. Undeterred, Odenheimer, along with his colleagues Bilal Shabir and Patrick Kingsley, persistently seek out others willing to speak, gradually piecing together the extent of the practice.

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Personal Accounts: The Human Impact

Bashir El Dalu’s Story [05:19 - 09:51]:
One of the most compelling segments features Bashir El Dalu, a 43-year-old pharmacist from northern Gaza. El Dalu describes his forced role as a human shield, where he was hazed into dangerous areas under duress. At [07:18], he narrates being ordered to undress, blindfolded, and sent into a hazardous yard, leading to injuries from broken glass. Despite the peril, El Dalu felt a sense of relief upon reaching an Israeli detention center, highlighting the complex psychological trauma inflicted by such practices.

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Scope and Prevalence

Widespread Implementation [10:20 - 13:37]:
Odenheimer reveals that the use of Palestinian detainees is not an isolated incident but a widespread phenomenon across at least 11 different squads in Gaza. The practice, termed internally as "mosquitoes" and "wasps," indicates a systematic approach within the military. "Mosquitoes" refer to detainees used within Gaza, while "wasps" are individuals brought from Israel for specific missions ([13:26]).

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Military and Legal Responses

Israeli Military Stance [16:10 - 17:53]:
When confronted, the Israeli military neither denied nor confirmed the allegations but stated that their guidelines strictly prohibit such practices. Despite acknowledgments, no punitive actions have been reported against involved officers or conscripts. Odenheimer emphasizes the illegality of using civilians as human shields, both under international law and Israeli statutes, referencing past Supreme Court rulings that have condemned similar actions.

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Ethical and Societal Implications

Soldiers’ Moral Dilemmas [18:13 - 21:49]:
Odenheimer sheds light on the internal conflicts among Israeli soldiers, many of whom express disgust and horror at the military's actions. Some soldiers actively resisted the practice, with entire platoons refusing to partake and ensuring the release of detainees. This internal resistance underscores a moral awakening amidst the chaos of war, suggesting a schism between military directives and individual ethics.

Shared Disregard for Civilian Lives [19:35 - 21:49]:
Tavernise and Odenheimer discuss the parallel disregard for Palestinian lives by both Hamas and the Israeli military. While Hamas is characterized as a terrorist organization with its oppressive tactics, the Israeli military is portrayed as a state actor violating the rules of war. This duality reveals a tragic pattern of civilian exploitation, deepening the humanitarian crisis and eroding moral standards on both sides.

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Conclusions and Future Implications

Impact on Israeli Society and Future Actions [21:49 - 23:06]:
As the intensity of the conflict wanes and the ICC issues arrest warrants, Israeli society is compelled to confront the brutal realities of the war's consequences. The revelation of using Palestinian detainees as human shields forces a reckoning with previously justified narratives of the war, potentially leading to calls for accountability and reform within the military.

Natan Odenheimer [17:37]:
"Even if this war is justified, it doesn't mean that everything we do or everything that we can do in this war is justified."

This powerful statement encapsulates the ethical dilemma faced by individuals within the military and the broader Israeli society. It underscores the necessity of maintaining moral integrity, even amidst the exigencies of war.

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Supporting Perspectives and Final Thoughts

Sabrina Tavernise [23:06 - End]:
Tavernise wraps up the episode by juxtaposing the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah with the ongoing humanitarian and ethical crises uncovered in the investigation. She emphasizes the need for transparency and accountability to prevent such violations of human rights from recurring.

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Notable Quotes

• Sabrina Tavernise [02:08]:
  "It's a major turning point in one of the wars Israel has been fighting since Hamas attacked it on October 7th."

• Natan Odenheimer [08:47]:
  "He wasn't hurt from the shooting, but he was injured from walking barefoot on the glass."

• Natan Odenheimer [18:51]:
  "Even if this war is justified, it doesn't mean that everything we do or everything that we can do in this war is justified."

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Key Takeaways

1. Systematic Use of Human Shields: The Israeli military's reliance on Palestinian detainees as human shields is not an isolated practice but a widespread, systematic tactic employed across multiple squads in Gaza.

2. Legal and Ethical Violations: This practice blatantly violates both Israeli and international law, contradicting previous Supreme Court rulings and established rules of war.

3. Moral Conflict Among Soldiers: Many Israeli soldiers experience profound ethical conflicts, with some actively resisting and condemning the use of detainees, highlighting a potential shift in military and societal values.

4. Shared Humanitarian Disregard: Both Hamas and the Israeli military exhibit a troubling disregard for Palestinian civilian lives, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and perpetuating the cycle of violence.

5. Implications for Future Accountability: The ongoing conflict and recent ICC actions may pressure Israeli society and its military to address and rectify these grave human rights violations.

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This episode of The Daily serves as a crucial exposé on the complexities and moral quandaries inherent in modern warfare, particularly within the fraught landscape of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Through meticulous investigation and compelling personal narratives, the podcast underscores the urgent need for accountability and the preservation of humanity amidst the ravages of war.

Transcript

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[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisi, and this is the Daily Overnight Israel agreed to a ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, a major turning point in one of the wars Israel has been fighting since Hamas attacked it on October 7th. But the war in Gaza shows no signs of ending, with Israel coming under increased scrutiny for the way it is conducting it. Today, a Times investigation into one controversial tactic, the Israeli use of Palestinian detainees as human shields and what it reveals about the nature of the conflict, my colleague Natan Odenheimer explains. It's Wednesday, November 27th. So, Natan, a lot has been happening with Israel in the past few days. We had the ceasefire with Lebanon and Hezbollah on Tuesday night and the week before. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. They issued those warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. You, Natan, have been investigating another practice by the Israeli military, one that's unconnected to what happened in the court, but seems to also raise questions about the rules of war, and that is Israel's use of Palestinians as human shields. Tell me exactly what you found.

[Natan Odenheimer]

So actually, I stumbled into this story around January 2024. I was filling my water bottle at the gym when I heard someone who I quickly understood was an Israeli soldier who recently returned from Gaza talking about seeing Palestinians being sent into Hamas tunnels. That what he was explaining is that the military is using Palestinians as human shields, sending them into Hamas tunnels ahead of Israeli forces to probe those dangerous areas.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So in other words, this is an Israeli soldier you're overhearing. The guy just came back from Gaza and he's recounting how they used Palestinians as human shields in Gaza.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Precisely. And I immediately wanted to know more. If true, if they were using Palestinians in this way in combat, this would be very, very wrong and illegal under both Israeli and international law. So I injected myself into the conversation, challenged him a bit to see how insistent he is, and he stood behind the story. And I went back home that day knowing that I have to get to the bottom of this to understand if this is something that only happens in one or Two places and is very local, or is this something that is actually a widespread phenomena across the military?

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So what did you do next? How did your reporting take shape?

[Natan Odenheimer]

Well, so I had one lead, right? I was able to get his number and I called him up a few days later, introduced myself as a journalist, said that I'm interested to hearing more of his thoughts about how the war is being fought. And when we got to this topic again, he shared a few more details, telling me more or less where it took place. But at some point he closed in and said that he'd want to stop the conversation there. He said that he's not very willing to talk about this anymore.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So basically he went dark before you could actually understand exactly what this phenomenon was.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Right. And we had a lot of questions. We wanted to know how widespread it is. Who are those Palestinians and mainly who authorized this? And slowly, slowly we were able to find more people. Some of them came forward because they thought that it's very disturbing. Others, we just kept on asking those questions and we were able to piece together a full picture.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

And what did that picture show?

[Natan Odenheimer]

So over a course of about 10 months of investigation, we, Bilal Shabir, my colleague in Gaza, and Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief of the New York Times, were able to uncover a disturbing practice of the Israeli military in Gaza. The Israeli military was using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza. They were using them to probe Hamas tunnels and they sent them ahead of forces into homes that they were afraid were booby trapped by Hamas. In some cases, Palestinian detainees were dressed as IDF soldiers, and in others, they were giving body cameras to take with them to give live feed to Israeli soldiers.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Why use Palestinians for this? Why do this at all, for that matter? You know, Israel has an incredibly sophisticated military and presumably the technology to do this kind of work, Right?

[Natan Odenheimer]

So there are different reasons. So first off, as great as drones and robots and even canine dogs can probe tunnels, a human being that can walk and move objects is way more efficient in probing areas. Sometimes a person can do tasks that a drone and a robot can't really do. And the other thing is that after three months of war, a canine dog is not as efficient as it was in the past. They're too traumatized and they're confused from all the smell of the explosives around, so they lose their orientation. So whenever sniffer dogs, robots or drones weren't good enough to probe the tunnels or walk ahead of forces into homes, they started using Palestinian prisoners as human shields for dangerous tasks.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So the Israeli military is using people Palestinian Detainees to do this very dangerous job that even dogs at this point can't do. Were you able to talk to anyone who this actually happened to?

[Natan Odenheimer]

Yes. So our reporter in Gaza, Bilal Shabir, spoke with three Palestinians who spoke on the record about their experience as being used as human shields. One of them was a pharmacist named Bashir El dalu. He's a 43 year old father of four from northern Gaza. In the beginning of the war, he and his family fled south. And then around mid November, he decided that he wants to make a risky trip back to his home to get some essentials, some things that his family really needed. At that point, the Israeli military considered any Palestinian walking around these unpopulated areas as a potential Hamas operative.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

I see. Because this was after the Israelis had told everybody to evacuate. So anybody still there was suspect.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Right. So after Bashir got to his home, the Israeli military detained him, and by his account, they ordered him at gunpoint to undress, and they blindfolded him. They took him barefoot and almost completely naked to a nearby yard of a multi story building. And then they took off the blindfold, made sure that his hands are tied in front of him and not in the back so he'd be able to move objects, and told him to go ahead of forces and probe that area. And this yard, according to his account, was partly ruined. There were glass all over the floor. And as he was walking, he was injured by this glass because his feet were bare. Yes, exactly. His feet were bare. And the soldiers were staying behind, giving him directions from a megaphone. So they order him to move around the yard, looking into different places, places they thought were potentially booby trapped or an entrance to a tunnel. And then there was noise coming out from around an electricity generator. And the soldiers got really afraid and started shooting in that direction. But it turned out that it was a kitten that made all this noise. And he said that some of the soldiers laughed in relief.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Wow. Was he hurt?

[Natan Odenheimer]

He wasn't hurt from the shooting, but he was injured from walking barefoot on the glass. So they used him as a human shield in several instances. But eventually they decided to take him into Israel and send him to an Israeli detention center. And I think that one of the things that really sent chills into my arms when I heard this story is that he said that he was excited, happy, and relieved to get there, knowing that he's outside of this dangerous zone.

[Amgen Representative]

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[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So that actually shows you how frightening that was for him, that he felt better once he got to the Israeli detention Center. Not generally the kind of place that a Gazan would tend to feel very safe in.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Yeah. And I think that it's also important to mention that he was treated there for his injuries, but also released later on sent back to Gaza. Which tells us that the Israeli intelligence did not think that he was involved with any militant group.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Right. That he was essentially just a civilian.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Yeah. Yeah. And what we later found out is that El Dalo's experience wasn't that rare. The Israeli military used Palestinians as human shields again and again throughout the war.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

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[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So Natanya, you said that you eventually came to understand that the story of Bashir the pharmacist was actually not that rare. But what was the actual scope of this? What was the scale?

[Natan Odenheimer]

So it's very difficult to understand the scale, but we spoke to 16 Israeli defense officials and soldiers. Some of them participated in this practice and most of them described it as a rather routine practice. And it seemed to us that this practice became more and more widespread throughout the war. And one of the reasons that Made us understand that is that we went to some people in, say, April or March and ask them if they know anything about it. And they gave us a hard no. They said, you know, this is not something that they would imagine people would be doing. But then again, when we circle back in June or July, suddenly they said that they came across it and even saw it with their own eyes.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So the practice seemed to have gotten much more widespread as the war went on.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Exactly, Sabrina. And we were able to confirm that this took place in at least 11 different squads throughout the Gaza Strip. So from the north to the south, in five Palestinian cities. And what really gave us a clear idea that this is quite commonplace practice was that it had a term.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So the practice was broad enough throughout the military that it had a name and, you know, people knew it. That implies scope.

[Natan Odenheimer]

That's right. So the first time we heard these terms was in February. A soldier who came back from the battlefields told us that already in November, he heard a senior commander explaining to his deputy that a nearby unit is asking for either a mosquito or a wasp.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

And what does he mean there? I mean mosquito and wasp.

[Natan Odenheimer]

So luckily for us, the deputy didn't know either. And the more senior commander explained to him that a mosquito is a Palestinian who was detained nearby in Gaza and was. Was then being used as a human shield in tunnels or in other dangerous places. As for wasps, we got varying accounts from sources. What we do know is that a wasp is someone who was in Israel and was brought into Gaza by Israeli intelligence officers for brief and specific missions. And there was some disagreement about whether these were detainees or whether these were paid collaborators who volunteered to enter Gaza with the military.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Okay, so in other words, mosquitoes are kind of like Bashir the pharmacist. They maybe got swept up in something inside Gaza. But wasps were different. They were brought from Israel back to Gaza and used there. But why would that happen? What is the purpose of moving them? Seems quite complicated to do.

[Natan Odenheimer]

So what I understood from several of the soldiers is that these are sometimes Palestinians who have knowledge of the tunnels or other places. Sometimes they were being used as human shields going into those tunnels ahead of the forces. But they were also used for intelligence and sometimes to point to places where they told the Israeli military could potentially be makeshift graves of hostages. So places that Hamas have hidden the bodies of Israeli soldiers taken captive on October 7th.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So in other words, they might have some specific knowledge of where to look and where to find things.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Exactly. The Israeli military was hoping to squeeze as much information as they could from those people. But the flip side of it is that it also created a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy and required logistics and coordination by different units and different agencies as well. This suggests that senior commanders did not only know about it, but sanctioned at least several versions of this tactic.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

And what did the Israeli military say to you when you confronted them about the practice before you published your article?

[Natan Odenheimer]

The Israeli military did not deny this. They said in the statement that its directives and guidelines strictly prohibit the use of detained Gaza civilians for military operations. It added that the account of the Palestinian detainees and soldiers interviewed by the Times would be examined by the relevant authorities.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

So they said they'd look into it. What exactly are the laws and conventions around this?

[Natan Odenheimer]

So using civilians or militants as human shields in a battlefield is completely illegal, not only by international law, but also by Israeli law. And Israel has some experience with that. About two and a half decades ago, the Israeli military used Palestinian civilians for risky missions, mostly in the West Bank. And this went to court, and the Israeli Supreme Court said that this is completely prohibited under Israeli law and ordered the military to stop with this practice.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

But you've shown here that they're doing it again. What happened after your story published?

[Natan Odenheimer]

Well, we know that it was discussed in the military and the government, but we can't really tell you if the military took serious steps in order to prevent it. But it's also important to note that the intensity of the war in Gaza went down significantly in the past few months. And it's possible that this practice isn't as widespread as it was in the height of the war. But as far as I know, not one Israeli officer or conscript was punished or even investigated for participating in this practice.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Natan, I'm curious about those Israeli soldiers that you talked to and how they saw this practice. I mean, fundamentally, it was something that was meant to protect them, of course, but clearly some of them must have felt uncomfortable with it because they were talking to you, a journalist, about it.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Right. We wouldn't be able to report then this story if it wasn't for the many Israeli soldiers who felt disgust and disturbed and horrified by the fact that the Israeli military is using this practice. One soldier told us that his entire platoon pushed back so hard that they basically stopped using this practice in their platoon, releasing the two Palestinian civilians who they were using as human shields. And I think that one thing that really resonated with me is that a soldier said that, you know, even if this war is justified, it doesn't mean that everything we do or everything that we can do in this war is justified.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Natan, at a high level, it seems like what your reporting shows, and correct me if I'm wrong here, is that the Israeli military, like Hamas, is willing to sacrifice Palestinian civilians for their own military purposes. And Israel, of course, accused Hamas of hiding within civilian populations, essentially using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza. And now we know that Israel is also using Palestinians as human shields. So I'm wondering if you think that the correct way to understand your reporting here is actually a sort of shared disregard, both on the part of the Israeli military and Hamas, for Palestinian civilian life.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Well, there is a common thread in the disregard to Palestinian lives, and both are terribly wrong, but they're each going about it in their own way. Hamas is a terrorist organization that is showing disregard for its own people, whereas Israel is a sovereign state that is violating the rules of war. And I think that an important takeaway from this story is how the Israeli military, which is a military of a state that is a member of the UN that has, you know, the most powerful nations in the world as allies, has its military standards being deteriorating to a place that it haven't been ever before, namely, using Palestinians as human shields in this widespread way. And one way to understand how it could have deteriorated to this point is to be reminded of the shock of Israeli society after seeing the October 7 atrocities. And the Israeli society was just traumatized by this, which clouded the moral judgment of many Israeli soldiers walking into their roles in the military and later marching into Gaza.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

In other words, there's an emotional response that's happening on the part of Israelis and Israeli citizens, who, of course, are also Israeli soldiers. And that is clouding, in some ways, judgment and allowing them, or perhaps kind of inviting them to see Palestinians in this dehumanized way.

[Natan Odenheimer]

Yeah. And also made them think that Hamas are Palestinians and that Palestinians are Hamas, which is something that is a bit hard for the greater Israeli society to understand, that there are many Palestinians who oppose Hamas or many Palestinians who are suffering from Hamas and who suffered from Hamas even from before the war. But this shows a deterioration in the regards to human lives by the Israeli military and something that we've never seen before.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Where, then does Israel go from here?

[Natan Odenheimer]

So we're in the stage of the war in which the intensity of the fighting is winding down in Gaza. And also the ICC have just issued the orders against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. So these two things make it harder for Israelis to ignore the consequences of the war in Gaza, namely the vast destruction and the many tens of thousands of Palestinians who died in this conflict. And now Israeli society that has justified this war throughout needs to face unjustified parts of it, like in the case case that Bilal Patrick and I uncovered about how it's using Palestinians as human shields. Natan, thank you, thank you, Sabrina.

[Sabrina Tavernisi]

We'll be right back.

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[Sabrina Tavernisi]

Here's what else you should know today. Early this morning, the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah went into effect. The deal was announced by President Biden in a televised address from the White House on Tuesday night. He said it was designed to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah permanently. It was a major turning point in a conflict that had displaced over a million Lebanese and tens of thousands of Israelis. The conflict started on October 7, when Hezbollah began firing into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel later retaliated, killing the group's longtime leader, planting explosives in the pagers used by the group's operatives, and conducting airstrikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. The fighting has killed more than 3,000 Lebanese and 100 Israelis and severely damaged Hezbollah. In the hours before the ceasefire was set to take effect, Israel continued to hit Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon in the heaviest barrage since the war began. The Lebanese parliament is expected to approve the agreement in a vote on Wednesday. Today's episode was produced by Mooj Zaidi, Jessica Chum and Luke van der Pluck. It was edited by MJ Davis Lynn, with help from Chris Haxel, with research assistance by Susan Lee. Contains original music by Dan Powell and Marian Lozano and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsberg of Wonderly. Special thanks to Patrick Kings. That's it for the Daily I'm Sabrina Tavernisi. See you tomorrow. Think you've got customer loyalty locked down? What about the one in eight customers who will ditch your brand after just one bad experience? It happens even to the best brands. But here's the good news. Medallia has done the research so you can regain that customer and maybe even their loyalty. See the research and a treasure trove of other loyalty building [e-mail] NYT.