‘Hamas stopping residents’: IDF shares call recording; accuses group of using Gaza civilians as shields

Israel on Wednesday released an audio recording it said captured a conversation between a COGAT officer and a Gaza City resident, alleging that Hamas was preventing civilians from fleeing to safety in order to use them as human shields."LISTEN: A conversation between a Gaza City resident and a COGAT officer exposes Hamas’ attempts to prevent residents from moving south for their protection, in order to use them as human shields,’ COGAT wrote on X.

In the recording, which appears to be in Arabic, the officer asks if the civilian is in northern Gaza, and the person confirms. When asked why, the resident replies: "We want to leave, but they are blocking the way."The officer then asks if ‘they’ refers to Hamas, and the resident replies: "Yes. They tell us, 'Go back home, there is no evacuation. Go back, go back, people are scattering.'"The officer asks whether people are afraid to cross, and the civilian responds: "Honestly, they are afraid. Some people are using side streets, looking for alternative routes. Hamas is standing on the seashore near Al-Nablusi and other places, directing people to move south through destroyed houses instead of the main roads.’”

COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) is the Israeli defence body responsible for implementing the government's civilian policy in the West Bank and toward the Gaza Strip. Israel refers to the West Bank as "Judea and Samaria." Israel has launched the initial stages of a major offensive in Gaza City, aiming to seize the enclave. Overnight and into Wednesday, strikes across the Strip killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals.Meanwhile, Israelis held nationwide demonstrations against the call-up of 60,000 reservists for the expanded operation, which has drawn global condemnation. Protesters accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the conflict for political gain instead of pursuing a ceasefire deal that could secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.