Among the 14 Arabs killed in yesterday's IDF counter-terrorism operation in Gaza were one child and a youth. IDF sources said that the two were placed in the line of fire, with the terrorists hiding behind them.
Lt.-Col. Ofer, commander of the Givati Brigade Patrol Battalion, told Yediot Acharonot, "The other side has a culture of using children as a human shield. We have several times seen armed Palestinians with children in their hands. They make sure to lift the children in the air [so that we can see them], assuming that we will then not shoot. Yesterday [on Shabbat], the children approached within a few meters of the tanks. Behind them, grenades were thrown - and exploded - at the tanks..."
Reports from the scene of yesterday's battle indicate that local Arabs use loudspeakers to encourage children to come out to the scene of the battle.
Lt.-Col. Ofer, commander of the Givati Brigade Patrol Battalion, told Yediot Acharonot, "The other side has a culture of using children as a human shield. We have several times seen armed Palestinians with children in their hands. They make sure to lift the children in the air [so that we can see them], assuming that we will then not shoot. Yesterday [on Shabbat], the children approached within a few meters of the tanks. Behind them, grenades were thrown - and exploded - at the tanks..."
Reports from the scene of yesterday's battle indicate that local Arabs use loudspeakers to encourage children to come out to the scene of the battle.