Palestinian says Israeli soldiers sent him into Hamas tunnel strapped with bombs

A Palestinian civilian detained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip has described being bound and strapped with explosives before being forced into a tunnel suspected to be used by Hamas. 

Hakim, 30, told Middle East Eye that the Israeli soldiers were using him as a human shield as they sought Hamas fighters underground.

The Palestinian, who wished to be identified only by his first name and was released two days ago, said he was one of the dozens of men seen in photographs and video bound and stripped to their underwear by Israeli troops. 

One soldier, he recalled, told him he wanted to send him to his God, before taking him to a Hamas tunnel. 

“He made me wear a belt filled with explosives, and placed a GoPro camera on my head along with a rope around my waist,” Hakim told MEE.

According to the Palestinian, he was then pushed into the tunnel and ordered to explore it to see if there were any fighters inside.

“They were prepared to explode the tunnel using my body if the camera on my head showed any fighters inside,” he said.

“I was 100 percent sure I was going to be killed at that moment, but then they pulled me out of the tunnel when they found nothing inside.”

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