Harrowing ordeal: Palestinian family used as human shields in Gaza

Mondoweiss on Sunday published the harrowing account of Palestinians who were used as human shields by Israeli forces in Khan Younis.

The ordeal happened in the early hours of January 22, when the Israeli forces launched a sudden aggression on western Khan Younis, home to five shelters for displaced Palestinians.

Among those caught in the assault was Ahmad Safi, a 26-year-old resident, and his family. Israeli soldiers stormed their refuge in the Tiba buildings, a designated “safe zone” surrounded by vital facilities such as al-Aqsa University, the al-Khair Hospital, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society Center.

As night fell, the sky over Khan Younis was filled with the ominous buzz of Israeli quadcopter drones. Ahmad, familiar with Israeli military tactics, knew a major operation was underway. Gunfire erupted in the distance, prompting Ahmad to seek distraction in an anime show.

However, the violence soon encroached upon his family’s haven. A bullet struck his cousin, and amidst the escalating gunfire, Israeli soldiers burst into their apartment, separating the men from the women. The women were forced south to Rafah, while Ahmad and the male relatives were zip-tied and kept in army custody.

“It was the first time I had seen an Israeli soldier in real life,” Ahmad told Mondoweiss.

Ahmad and his family were ordered to kneel against their apartment’s southern wall, facing a resistance-affiliated building. As Israeli soldiers took cover behind them, the realization dawned on Ahmad that they were being used as human shields.

Despite the winter cold and tightly bound hands, the family endured relentless terror. Soldiers fired bullets near their feet and toyed with them using tanks, subjecting them to psychological and physical torment.

Ahmad’s brother, Saeed, suffered severe beatings, his jaw broken, and endured further humiliation based on his appearance, which soldiers associated with resistance fighters.

The ordeal continued as an intensified exchange of gunfire trapped Ahmad and his family between the opposing forces. Their desperate screams for a ceasefire momentarily halted the shooting.

For over 12 hours, they remained unwilling human shields, enduring dehydration and exhaustion. Ahmad performed the noon prayer with his eyes, a method permissible in Islam under extreme duress.

Before sunset, another exchange of fire erupted. Soldiers repositioned Ahmad and his family atop a sand dune, exposing them to further danger. They were forced to cling to each other to avoid falling into a ditch below, a scene reminiscent of mass graves reported in other conflict zones.

The soldiers eventually moved them to a building with partially destroyed walls, making them visible targets for resistance fighters. Periodically, a soldier would point a red laser at them.

After 18 hours of abduction, the men were finally interrogated. Ahmad was shown drone footage and forced to locate his home, which he realized had been destroyed.

“The intelligence command asked me to locate my house on live footage they showed me from a drone in my area,” Ahmad told Mondoweiss.

“I couldn’t at first, because the whole area appeared flattened. Luckily, I located it before the second punch.”

“That was the moment I learned that my house had been destroyed,” he added.

Following the interrogation, the family was released and directed south, guided by a laser beam in the dead of night.

They stumbled towards a UN school sheltering other displaced individuals, where they were met with aid and, finally, reunited with Ahmad’s mother and sisters at his uncle’s tent.

The next morning, Ahmad and his entire family fled to Rafah, abandoning their lives in Khan Younis.

Despite surviving the nightmare, the trauma of their experience as human shields remains a harsh reminder of the human cost of genocide.