Leaked photo documents execution of elderly Palestinians in northern Gaza after being used as human shields

GAZA, Aug. 09 (YPA) – A recently leaked photograph reveals that forces from the 92nd Battalion of the Israeli occupation army’s Kfir Brigade detained two elderly Palestinian civilians from the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip and used them as human shields before executing them in November 2024.

According to testimonies and rights reports, the two men were forced to enter residential buildings to verify the absence of explosives or fighters prior to troops storming the structures. Their bodies were discovered near the Al-Tawam roundabout three days after their initial detention, following gunshot wounds, as confirmed by Ramy Abdu, Chairman of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.

This incident forms part of a broader body of documentation detailing the systematic deployment of civilians as human shields in Gaza—a practice characterized by UN investigations as a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.

Although the Israeli military launched investigations in May 2025 and reaffirmed that its directives prohibit such practices, testimonies published by the Associated Press, alongside statements from Israeli soldiers, confirm their continued widespread usage.

YPA