THE ISRAELI regime has deployed its entire standing army infantry and armoured brigades to the Gaza Strip amid a serious escalation of its 19-month-old war of genocide against the Palestinian territory.
Announcing the development, the Israeli military said the deployed brigades included elite ones such as as Golani, Paratroopers, Givati, Commando, Kfir, Nahal, 7th, 188th, and 401st, various Israeli media outlets reported on Saturday.
A limited number of reserve units have also been mobilised for operations across the coastal sliver, the reports noted.
The military build-up came after the regime launched its operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’, which mandated Israeli forces to focus more on the northern part of the coastal sliver and the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli army says it has launched the first stage of a major offensive in Gaza, dubbed ‘Gideon’s Chariots’, to seize the Palestinian territory
A new report says Israeli forces are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza.
The Hamas Movement has said that the testimonies from Palestinian detainees and Israeli soldiers in a report released by the Associated Press (AP) proved that the Israeli occupation army committed ‘heinous crimes’ against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Seven Palestinians spoke to AP about being used as human shields in both Gaza and the West Bank, in a report published on Saturday.
Two Israeli officers also confirmed the systematic use of such a practice by Israeli military and security forces.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas said the ‘crimes’ referenced in the AP report were committed ‘under clear orders from senior military commanders’, calling them ‘war crimes and systematic violations of international law’.
‘The testimonies reveal a systematic, deliberate policy that reflects the moral and institutional collapse within the ranks of this terrorist army,’ the Movement said.
The use of civilians as human shields is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
