Israel acknowledges possible forced use of civilians in Gaza military operations, launches investigation

This is the first time the military has acknowledged that there is “reasonable suspicion” to believe soldiers forced civilians to take part in military operations.

“In several cases, the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division opened investigations after reasonable suspicion arose regarding the use of Palestinians for military missions during the operations,” the IDF said.

The military would not confirm how many investigations had been opened, nor who was being investigated.

“Those investigations are still ongoing, and accordingly, other details cannot be provided at this time,” the IDF said.

The practice was reportedly so common in the Israeli military that it had a name: “mosquito protocol.”

The exact scale and scope of the practice by the Israeli military is not known. But the testimony of both the soldier and five civilians last year indicated that it was widespread across the territory: in northern Gaza, Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah.

“They would ask us to do things like, ‘move this carpet,’ saying they were looking for tunnels,” he said. “‘Film under the stairs,’ they would say. If they found something, they would tell us to bring it outside. For example, they would ask us to remove belongings from the house, clean here, move the sofa, open the fridge, and open the cupboard.”