Video shows Palestinian prisoners used by Israel as human shields
Exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows Israeli forces using Palestinian prisoners as human shields during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The footage shows the Israeli forces tying prisoners with ropes, installing cameras on their bodies, and forcing them to enter destroyed residences and tunnels in search of explosives.
Many of these prisoners are seen wounded, many of them undressed.
“In some scenes, we can see one man clearly beaten and bloodied, with his hands tied behind his back, going up the stairs of a building that has been completely destroyed, searching for weapons or more Hamas fighters,” says Al Jazeera journalist Hamdah Salhut.
Hamdah Salhut went on to say: “In that same video, you can see dead bodies all over the floor from when the building was destroyed. Additionally, we know that another prisoner was walking behind him with a camera strapped to his chest. In another part of the video, we see Palestinian prisoners who are dressed in army gear, without any weapons, in some of these other buildings, [also] searching for weapons or Hamas fighters.”
“The Israeli military, tying a rope across the body of one Palestinian prisoner, forces him into a tunnel where he is being essentially suspended by this rope, which can be tugged by the army. This is not the first example we’ve seen throughout this war of the Israeli army using Palestinians as human shields in either Gaza or the occupied West Bank,” she added.
