Israeli soldiers are facing many difficult issues during combat with Hamas terrorists in Gaza. One of the most difficult, however, is the issue of whether or not to shoot an individual who poses a threat to the forces by acting on behalf of the terrorists, although not holding or aiming a gun.
Specifically, IDF soldiers have found themselves faced with the dilemma of what to do about a woman — and yes, even a young child — who is clearly acting on the orders of terrorists preparing to attack. Do you shoot and eliminate the threat? Or do you instead stand down and face a far more life-threatening situation, possibly an ambush but most certainly some form of attack, shortly after?
Thus far, Israel’s elite combat forces have chosen not to shoot the terrorists’ children proxies. More than a few Israeli children have lost their own fathers as a result of the IDF fighters’ decision to stand down rather than hurt a child or a woman.
During its operations in the enclave, the IDF has repeatedly uncovered evidence, including video footage, showing how the Hamas terrorist organization indoctrinates children in Gaza, inciting them to look forward to the day they too will grow up to become terrorists themselves.
It begins with education, including that in the allegedly “neutral” schools of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). From a young age, children in Gaza are educated to hate Israel and Jews, as they are in similar schools in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria, and those in eastern Jerusalem.
In such schools, in youth movements, and at Hamas-operated summer camps, Arab children undergo both theoretical and practical military training, learning to shoot weapons, storm through tunnels, fight against tanks and even kidnap soldiers.
IDF soldiers have found many certificates of appreciation awarded to children for their “achievements” in terror training programs.
These childhood terror training camps provide the earliest stages of preparation to enter Hamas’ military wing as older teens and adults.
Based on intelligence it is estimated that a significant number of minors are currently active in the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations.
Even during the current war, the Hamas terrorist organization has been using minors for various tasks, including sending children to deliver messages and ammunition.
The IDF previously disclosed the investigation of a company commander in the Hamas ‘Zeytoun’ Battalion, in which the detainee detailed the terrorist organization’s fighting doctrine.
Based on this doctrine, children are used to transfer ammunition with the understanding that the IDF will not harm them due to the IDF’s compliance with international law.
One of the examples of this is the transfer of explosives in vegetable bags by children in Gaza.
Another example is seen when Hamas sends children to combat zones after attacks in order to assess the damage and report it to the terrorists who are hiding safely in their shelters.
During their childhood terror training, the youngsters in Gaza are photographed alongside members of Hamas as they learn to properly hold and fire weapons, and travel through the terror group’s subterranean attack tunnels beneath the cities in Gaza.
At the conclusion of each stage of their training, the soon-to-be terrorists receive certificates of appreciation for the hard work and membership in Hamas youth movements.
