This blog has, on various occasions such as
here and
here, noted how Hamas, as with its terror associates Fatah, Hezbollah, etc. exploits civilians as strategic human shields in combat situations against Israel.
It needs to be re-emphasized that the use of non-combatants and protected structures or vehicles, such as hospitals or ambulances, is a war crime. In such circumstances the protected status does not apply, since otherwise every soldier could simply hide behind a civilian for protection. Unfortunately, the blame is seldom put on the terrorists for whom such war crimes are standard operating procedure.
Here is testimony from a Gazan ambulance driver Muhammad Shriteh about how
Hamas uses ambulances and hospitals as shields to protect their fighters and related incidents:
4. Muhammad Shriteh said that during most of Operation Cast Lead he would "co-ordinate with the Israelis before we pick up patients... so they would not shoot at us." He said that the more immediate threat was from Hamas, who would "would lure the ambulances into the heart of a battle to transport fighters to safety."
5. He also said that one night, after the first week of fighting, "there was a call for a house in Jabaliya." Because of the urgency of the call, he said, there was no time to arrange his movements with the IDF. Nevertheless, he knew the Israelis were watching him because "I could see the red laser beam on the ambulance and on me."
6. Shriteh said that when he entered the house in Jabaliya he saw three Hamas operatives who had taken cover inside, and that half of the building had already been destroyed. "They were very scared, and very nervous," he said. "They dropped their weapons and ordered me to get them out, to put them in the ambulance and take them away." He refused because, he said, he knew that if the IDF saw him, he would not be able to pick up any more wounded people. One of the Hamas operatives, he said, put a gun to his head but he still refused, and then they allowed him to leave.
7. He added that during Operation Cast Lead, Hamas operatives made several attempts to hijack the Al-Quds Hospital's [located in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City] fleet of ambulances. He also said that "You hear when they are coming. People ring to tell you. So we had to get in all the ambulances and make the illusion of an emergency and only come back when they had gone."
8. In the past, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations used the tactic of exploiting ambulances for military purposes. For example, on May 24, 2004, Israel 's Channel 10 TV broadcast a video tape photographed by Reuters. It showed two ambulances arriving at the site of an exchange of fire between the IDF and terrorist operatives during an IDF action in the Gaza Strip. One of the ambulances can clearly be seen as marked with a red cross and "UN," and as flying a UN flag. The ambulances, which belonged to UNRWA, evacuated two terrorist operatives wearing uniforms and accompanying a wounded operative, who was armed and also in uniform. Two other armed operatives (one masked), apparently unconnected to the wounded man, could also be seen getting into ambulance after them, using it to escape.
9. Ambulances and vehicles belonging to international organizations are used during fighting to evade being examined and to exploit the freedom of movement the IDF gives such vehicles. Armed Hamas operatives use them to leave battle zones, moving to wherever the wounded are taken. In addition, during Operation Cast Lead, terrorists hid in hospitals and operated from within them, correctly assuming that the Israeli security forces would not enter medical institutions and would abstain from attacking hospitals.
Click here for more information:
Gazans Tell How Hamas Used Them As Human Shields and
Hamas Exploitation of Civilians as Human Shields
