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.

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.

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.

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.

What exactly are the laws and conventions around this? 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.

What exactly are the laws and conventions around this? 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.

And the Israeli Supreme Court said that this is completely prohibited under Israeli law and ordered the military to stop with this practice.

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.

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.

But as far as I know, not one Israeli officer or conscript was punished or even investigated for participating in this practice.

Right. We wouldn't be able to report on 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.

Right. We wouldn't be able to report on 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.

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 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.

And I think that one thing that really resonated with me is that a soldier said that 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.

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.

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.