Khan Younis, Gaza – A Palestinian woman has recounted a harrowing experience of being used as a human shield by Israeli soldiers during the recent conflict. The incident occurred after she was detained, injured, in the Abbassan Al-Kabira area, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Sharifa Qudaih, 50, shared her story, expressing the ongoing trauma she faces, particularly after images of her taken by the Israeli army circulated. The photograph depicts Qudaih sitting, restrained, at the base of an earthen embankment, with Israeli soldiers positioned above her, engaged in combat. She alleges she was forced to remain there, serving as a shield against potential fire from Palestinian resistance fighters.
Qudaih stated that Israeli soldiers pulled her from under rubble, where she was injured following bombardment of her residential area. According to her account, they bound her hands, detained her, and then positioned her on a chair to protect their backs.
There have been multiple reports and allegations of the Israeli military using Palestinians as human shields during ground operations within the Gaza Strip. Several Arab and international news outlets have broadcast footage purportedly showing young men and elderly individuals being used in this manner, with some allegedly forced into buildings suspected of housing resistance fighters, seemingly disregarding their safety.
International law considers the use of civilians as human shields a war crime. Article 23 of the Third Geneva Convention states that “No prisoner of war may at any time be sent to, or detained in a region where he may be exposed to the fire of the combat zone, nor may his presence be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.”
