 "Does Israeli military have 'mosquito’ and ‘wasp’ protocols to use Palestinians as human shields?")
Reports from testimonies provided by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier and five former Palestinian detainees detail allegations that Israeli military forces, particularly in Gaza, have implemented protocols that place Palestinian civilians at the front lines, positioning them as human shields in hazardous operations.
According to accounts gathered by CNN, the so-called “mosquito protocol” involves forcing Palestinian detainees into potentially booby-trapped sites — houses, tunnels, and other structures — before Israeli soldiers proceed.
Across various units throughout the conflict, soldiers consistently used specific terms to describe detainees. The term “wasp” typically referred to individuals brought into Gaza from Israel by intelligence officers for short, specific assignments. However, some soldiers believed it referred to paid collaborators who voluntarily entered Gaza, while others associated it with detainees.
The term “mosquito,” on the other hand, was used for detainees captured directly within Gaza, who were often quickly assigned tasks without transfer to Israel, sometimes held for days or even weeks. “Mosquitoes” were reportedly deployed far more frequently than “wasps.”
How the IDF soldiers used the detainees
“We told them to enter the building before us,” one IDF soldier recounted. “If there are any booby traps, they will explode and not us.” Such practices, according to the soldier’s testimony, have occurred in key areas throughout Gaza, including Gaza City, Rafah, Khan Younis, and northern Gaza.
Despite standard procedures that would typically involve using armoured vehicles, tanks, or dogs to inspect suspected locations, the IDF soldier claimed that an intelligence officer introduced two Palestinian detainees, a 16-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man, and directed soldiers to use them instead.
“It’s better that the Palestinian will explode and not our soldiers,” the soldier recounted his commander saying. Though some soldiers in the unit opposed the practice, the soldier noted that they were later instructed by their senior commander not to worry about international law, stating that the safety of Israeli soldiers was the priority.
Palestinian detainees’ experiences as human shields
Testimonies from Palestinian detainees provide a further glimpse into the conditions and tasks they were compelled to perform. Mohammad Saad, 20, a detainee, described how he was forced to wear a military uniform and carry out reconnaissance missions.
“They dressed us in military uniforms, put a camera on us, and gave us a metal cutter,” he said. “They would ask us to do things like, ‘move this carpet,’ saying they were looking for tunnels.”
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In some instances, detainees were required to film under staircases, examine cupboards, and move furniture while being monitored closely by Israeli soldiers, who feared potential explosives. Saad described one event where, while filming near a tank, he was struck by a bullet and survived, later recovering in Israel’s Soroka Medical Center.
Another detainee, 17-year-old Mohammad Shbeir, recounted being captured following a raid that killed his father and sister. “I was handcuffed and wearing nothing but my boxers,” Shbeir stated. “They used me as a human shield, taking me into demolished houses, places that could be dangerous or contain landmines.”
Israeli Military responds
The IDF’s spokesperson responded to these allegations by stating that Israeli military directives prohibit the use of Gaza civilians in any military operations. “The IDF’s directives and guidelines strictly prohibit the use of detained Gaza civilians for military operations,” the Israeli military told CNN.
International humanitarian law and the Israeli Supreme Court have banned the use of civilians as human shields, deeming such actions as violations of human rights.
In 2005, following complaints from rights groups, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled against the military’s prior use of Palestinian civilians in door-knocking tactics during raids in the West Bank, with then Israeli Justice Aharon Barak condemning it as “cruel and barbaric.”
However, Breaking the Silence, an organisation providing a platform for IDF soldiers to share their experiences, furnished images that appear to corroborate the soldier’s statements. The photographs depict Palestinian civilians being used as human shields, blindfolded, bound, and led by soldiers into devastated Gaza locales.
Are these claims true?
Israel has long accused Hamas of embedding its military operations within civilian structures, a strategy that it claims forces high civilian casualties during conflicts. The IDF asserts that this tactic of Hamas places civilians in jeopardy, leading to strikes on areas like schools, hospitals, and residential complexes.
The Israeli military cited such strategies as the cause of the significant Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza, where recent IDF operations reportedly resulted in over 42,000 deaths since October, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The United Nations estimates that most of those casualties are civilians.
The soldier who provided testimony admitted to feeling conflicted, expressing disapproval of the “mosquito protocol” even though he understood the desire to avoid Israeli casualties.
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“It’s quite shocking, but after a few months in Gaza, you [tend not to] think clearly,” he said, acknowledging the mental toll of prolonged conflict.
“We saw Hamas using Palestinians as human shields,” the soldier said. “But for me it’s more painful with my own army. Hamas is a terrorist organization. The IDF shouldn’t use terrorist organization practices.”
“My own soldiers who refused it in the beginning were back to using this practice,” the soldier said of his fellow unit members. “They have no strength like they had in the beginning.”
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