Let’s get something straight about the issue of human shields. IDF tactics are a breach of the principles of proportionality

Overall, the issue of human shields falls under the principles of proportionality, which require that precautions be taken to minimize the harm to these noncombatants. As early as November 2023, human rights experts have been stating that the number of civilians killed in Gaza gives an indication that the calculation of proportionality has left the bounds of reasonableness and that Israel has been committing war crimes.

With this in mind, it is important to add some context.

– Is carpet bombing a legitimate military strategy?

Hamas has an estimated 40,000 fighters. In its claimed goal of destroying these fighters, since October 7, analysis suggests the Israeli army has destroyed or significantly damaged between 144,000 and 175,000 buildings in Gaza with its bombing campaign (around 50% completely destroyed). That’s 4 buildings targeted for every single Hamas fighter. The IDF claims that because of the extensive network of Hamas tunnels, it has no choice but to carry out such an extensive bombing campaign and that civilians are just tragic collateral damage (“war is terrible”). However, a large proportion of their artillery strikes are unguided, and this is by definition carpet bombing. Carpet bombing of cities, towns, villages, or other areas containing a concentration of protected civilians has been considered a war crime since 1977, through Article 51 of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions.

– Why is Hamas located in Gaza?

Irrespective of the debate around public support of Hamas, Hamas has no choice but to be located in Gaza. In 2007, Israel blockaded Gaza, turning it into the world’s largest open-air prison. Hamas was locked inside Gaza just like everyone else.

– Could Hamas fight somewhere else?

No, the only way that Hamas could do this is to break out of Gaza and fight the IDF (the world’s 4th biggest army) head-on. Obviously, this makes no strategic sense. It might seem irresponsible for them to operate in one of the highest density urban environments on the planet, and it is argued that placing military assets or personnel amid civilian populations is considered an act of perfidy, described as a "grave breach" in Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, but let’s face it, when it comes to Gaza, this isn’t really a choice. Clearly, there’s a double standard at play as argued by human rights lawyers like Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini who argue that whether civilians are framed as "human shields" by virtue of their physical proximity to belligerents ("proximate shields"), depends largely on whether the belligerents in question are military or irregulars: "Israeli citizens in Tel Aviv are not classified as shields when Hamas launches rockets towards the Israel Defense Forces military command headquarters located in the city center and in residential areas. Even Netanya has been quoted as stating that occupied areas are “security zones” and as such legitimated military bases. However, this is used as a loophole for constructing civilian settlements within the so-called security zones.

– Does Hamas use human shields?

The IDF, United States, and the UN claim they do, and of course, Hamas denies it (mostly). In all likelihood, there have been cases where Hamas has used civilians as human shields, but also, some allegations of this occurring have later been debunked after investigation. It should also be noted that the IDF has a long, proven history of using Palestinians as human shields and for a long time it was even an official IDF military tactic.

– Why does Hamas build tunnels everywhere?

Hamas built the tunnel network to enable relatively safe movement around the combat zone, just like the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam and the trenches in WW1. It is arguable that not having the tunnels and only operating above ground in such a dense urban area would place civilians in even greater danger.

– Does Hamas tell people to remain in areas which are under IDF attack?

In 2014 when Israel was also bombing Gaza, the IDF claimed that Hamas had told civilians to stay in their homes despite the IDF giving prior knowledge of an impending attack. However, according to Amnesty International, Hamas' call may have been 'motivated by a desire to avoid further panic' among civilians, considering both the lack of shelters in Gaza and the fact that it was some civilians who heeded the IDF's warnings had been casualties of Israeli attacks. In 2014, the IDF also attacked hospitals, claiming they were de facto Hamas headquarters, which was denied by foreign aid doctors working there.

– What is the law around human shields in war?

It is illegal under the Geneva Convention and humanitarian law to use civilians as involuntary human shields and as such is a war crime. Under international law, risk to civilians does not bar military action, but the principle of proportionality requires that precautions be taken to minimize the harm to these protected persons. This analysis includes considerations like whether circumstances permit the attacker to time a military action to minimize the presence of civilians at the location (which is why the IDF claims to give notice of an attack). The situation gets more confused because Israel does not recognize Palestine as a state and as such views Hamas as Non-state forces (guerrillas and terrorists), which enables Israel to in some ways disregard the rules of war. However the principles of proportionality protects civilians from collective punishment under humanitarian law, when the use of force is excessive relative to its anticipated military advantage it is said to be disproportionate, and disproportionate force is prohibited under international law. Additionally, the IDF has a long history of using a strategy called the Dahiya doctrine which literally endorses the employment of 'disproportionate force' – this strategy flies in the face of promises regarding reasonable care to avoid non-combatant casualties.

Conclusion.

The State of Israel’s renewed claims that high levels of civilian casualties are solely because of Hamas using civilians as human shields, can only be viewed as propaganda. Not only is contradictory to the evidence visible to everyone, but it has been declared as a false narrative by human rights experts and humanitarian groups since November 2023. The fact that the State of Israel is doubling-down on this narrative seems like an act of desperation to legitimize the continuation of the war whilst Western political allies receive public condemnation for their complicity.?