The newspaper writes that at least eleven Israeli units in five cities in Gaza have forced Palestinian civilians to perform tasks such as searching for explosives or spying in tunnels, in order to protect Israeli soldiers.
The American Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Matthew Miller calls the reports "extremely disturbing", writes AFP.
It is never justifiable to use civilians as human shields. It would be a crime not only against international humanitarian law but also against the IDF's own code of conduct, says Miller, referring to Israel's defense forces.
The newspaper has interviewed a young man, then 17 years old, who says that Israeli soldiers took him from his family and forced him to walk handcuffed in front of them to search for explosives – before he was released.
The US has repeatedly expressed concern over Israel's actions against civilians during the year-long war in Gaza.
