The investigation of Muhammad Darwish Amara
(IDF)
Recent IDF interrogations of Gazans captured during the war have revealed the severe and worsening conditions of living in close proximity to Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives, revealing the extent of the hardship and the systematic deterioration of daily life for residents in these areas.
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According to testimony, "A man discovered they took an explosive charge and placed it near his door, a couple of feet away. The man said 'don't put it there, it could kill me and my children'. They told him that if he was unhappy about that, he could leave. When he protested, he was shot in the leg."
The investigation of Zohadi Ali Zahadi Shahin
(קרדיט: IDF)
Mohammed Darwish Amara, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative, spoke of how Hamas operatives have been moving around and embedding themselves within the population. "I was at a school and I told a kid to go by the house every now and then to make sure nothing is stolen, and when he got there, he saw a bunch of Hamas operatives just resting in the apartment, using it as a firing nest. They came into my apartment without authorization.
"My brothers and I inherited a plot of land, but my cousin, who is a member of Hamas, won't give it up. He placed artillery there. When I told him he could hurt the children living there, he said it's his land and he'll do whatever he wants with it."
Zuhadi Ali Zahadi Shahi, a former Hamas operative, said, "We felt we're being used as human shields. Why should we protect them? We want to live too. IDF gave us a clear path south, where there would be food and water, but Hamas stopped us along the way and took us to sit with them inside Al-Shifa Hospital. I even argued with one of them, telling him he should be out there, fighting, but he just threatened me in return.
"In all honesty, I prefer the IDF. If they had been there, right where we lived, we wouldn't have been starving. At first, we were scared about what would happen when the IDF came inside Al-Shifa, but they actually gave us food and water and sat with us. We felt safe."