JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli soldiers used a Palestinian boy as a human shield during the recent military operation in Gaza, according to the United Nations.
A group of nine U.N. human rights experts said Monday that the troops ordered an 11-year-old boy to walk in front of them on Jan. 15 in a Gaza residential neighborhood where they were being fired on.
The incident was included in a 43-page report released Monday, the Associated Press reported. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. secretary-general’s envoy for protecting children in armed conflict, called it a violation of Israeli and international law.
The report says it verified many human rights atrocities committed by Israel during the three-week Operation Cast Lead. It also has been alleged that Hamas used human shields, Coomaraswamy told the AP.
Coomaraswamy visited Gaza and Israel for five days last month.
