US Intelligence Reportedly Found Some IDF Personnel Discussed Using Palestinians as Human Shields

US intelligence reportedly found some IDF personnel discussed using Palestinians as human shields

US intelligence provided to the Biden White House in the final weeks of the administration indicated that some Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) personnel discussed sending Palestinians into tunnels rigged with explosives to act as human shields, two US officials told Reuters. International law expressly prohibits using civilians as shields during military operations.

Officials said the intelligence, collected in late 2024, prompted questions inside the White House and the US intelligence community about how widespread the tactic might be and whether soldiers were following directions from military commanders. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not specify whether the Palestinians identified in the reports were detainees or free civilians.

The IDF responded that it "prohibits the use of civilians as human shields, or coercing them in any way to participate in military operations," and said its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is probing "suspicions involving Palestinians in military missions." Reuters could not determine whether the Biden administration raised the intelligence directly with the Israeli government, and Israeli officials did not answer questions about such discussions.

Context: Separate media reports have accused Hamas of embedding fighters inside civilian structures — including hospitals — to shield militants; Hamas has denied those claims.

The reporting notes that Hamas-led militants seized 251 hostages in the 7 October 2023 attacks and, according to Israeli tallies, killed about 1,200 people. Health authorities in Gaza say Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 69,000 Palestinians.

The alleged intelligence about the IDF’s discussion of using civilians as shields was one of several items circulating within the US government in the administration’s closing weeks, as analysts examined fresh streams of material revealing internal Israeli deliberations over conduct in Gaza. Reuters also reported that US analysts had received information suggesting Israeli lawyers believed there was evidence that could support war crimes charges related to Israel’s Gaza campaign.

Some senior US officials said the new intelligence heightened concerns that Israel might be committing actions amounting to war crimes; such findings could have legal and diplomatic consequences for US support. However, lawyers from multiple US agencies concluded in the final weeks of the administration that the available evidence did not demonstrate that Israel had committed war crimes and that the US could continue providing weapons and intelligence. Other former officials cautioned the material described isolated incidents rather than an overarching policy or practice.

Former White House officials and the CIA did not comment on the record for Reuters. The reporting is based on US officials who spoke anonymously and on documents and analysis circulating inside the US government in late 2024.