Use of human shields by Hamas

Hamas has frequently faced accusations of using human shields—placing non-combatants in the line of fire to prevent military objectives from being targeted without harming the non-combatant—throughout the Gaza–Israel conflict. Hamas has denied the accusations; while it has been found to operate in and launch attacks from civilian areas, endangering non-combatants, human rights groups say this does not equate to human shielding under international law.

In 2019, NATO released a report saying that Hamas had begun using human shields in 2007. Israel claimed that Hamas used human shields during the 2008–2009 Gaza War and the 2014 Gaza War. Amnesty International investigated and found no evidence to support these claims. They found that Hamas launched rockets from civilian areas and had urged residents to ignore Israeli evacuation warnings, but those actions do not qualify as using human shields. They said that Hamas's suggestion to ignore evacuation warnings might have been intended to minimize panic and displacement. Human Rights Watch (HRW) also found no evidence that Hamas used human shields during the 2009 conflict. Similarly, a 2009 UN fact finding mission found no evidence that Palestinian armed groups used mosques, hospitals or ambulances for military purposes, or that civilians were forced by Hamas or other factions to remain in areas under Israeli attack to be used as human shields.

During the Gaza war, Israel, other nations, and the UN Secretary-General accused Hamas of using hospitals as human shields. In 2024, HRW reported at least two incidents where Palestinian fighters appeared to have used Israeli hostages as human shields during the October 7 attacks in Kibbutz Be'eri and Nahal Oz. In November 2024, the UN reported that in most instances, Israel does not provide substantial evidence for its human shields allegations in Gaza nor could they independently verify these allegations. The UN raised concerns regarding the actions of Palestinian armed groups and their compliance with international humanitarian law with respect to locating military objectives near densely populated areas and placement of civilians in areas regarded as military objectives.

Human rights groups have noted that Israel must still abide by international law—especially the principle of proportionality—regardless if human shields were used by Hamas. Israel itself has used Palestinians as human shields, and international rights scholars have argued Israel exploits the allegations against Hamas to cover up atrocities against Palestinian civilians and pre-empt sanctions for breaches of international law.