A disturbing video appears to show a Hamas fighter using a young child as a human shield while moving weapons into a civilian home in Gaza during Israeli military operations in the territory.
The aerial footage, recorded by an Israeli drone and released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was presented as evidence of the methods the Palestinian terrorist organization allegedly uses to deter Israeli airstrikes.
The clip shows a young boy struggling to carry a large rifle. At one point, he appears to stagger under its weight and nearly falls as a suspected Hamas militant directs him along a street.
The footage was reportedly captured during Israeli operations in central Gaza on Sunday.
“The terrorist exploited the child, using him as a human shield to transfer the weapons, in an attempt to prevent the IDF from striking and thwarting their transfer,” the IDF said in a statement issued Sunday.
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“Upon identifying the presence of a child, the IDF refrained from carrying out any strikes against the terrorist,” the military added.
The IDF said the incident was another example of what it called the “systematic exploitation of children by terrorist organizations for terrorist purposes, in violation of international law.”
The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of using Gaza’s civilian population—particularly children—as human shields. It also says the group places weapons, command centers and rocket launchers near schools and residential neighborhoods, either to discourage Israeli attacks or to provoke international condemnation when civilians are killed or injured.
Hamas has consistently denied the allegations, arguing that Gaza is one of the world’s most densely populated areas and that military activity therefore inevitably takes place near civilians.
Hamas leaders have also said Israel, as the occupying power of the Gaza Strip, bears the legal responsibility for protecting civilians and children.
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