内容摘要：As word spread, large crowds descended on the site, lining up in front of metal fences topped with surveillance cameras.

As word spread, large crowds descended on the site, lining up in front of metal fences topped with surveillance cameras.

The no-sail declarations caused concern in Seoul over a potential uptick in Chinese military activity in the area.Army under pressure to provide answers amid growing evidence that orders to use Palestinians as ‘fodder’ come from top.

A recent report by The Associated Press that exposed the Israeli military’s “systematic” use of Palestinians as human shields has shone a light on an illegal practice that has become commonplace over the 19-month war in Gaza and parallel offensives in the West Bank.The report, published on Saturday, featured the testimonies of seven Palestinians who had been used as human shields in Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank, with two Israeli military officers confirming the ubiquity of the practice, which is considered a violation of international law.Responding to the allegations, Israel’s military told the news agency that using civilians as shields in its operations was strictly prohibited and that several cases were under investigation.

So what are human shields? How widely have they been used by the Israeli military? And is Israel likely to launch a crackdown any time soon?What are human shields, and how has Israel used them?

Under international humanitarian law (IHL), the term “human shields” refers to the use of civilians or other protected persons, whether voluntary or involuntary, in order to shield military targets from attacks.

The use of human shields in warfare is prohibited under IHL, but Israeli soldiers have allegedly employed it widely during the Gaza genocide.The phone number used was also not Wiles’s normal number. Still, some of the sources who spoke to The Journal said they interacted with the impostor before realising it was not, in fact, Wiles herself.

On Friday, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, issued a statement denouncing any impersonation campaigns.“Safeguarding our administration officials’ ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president’s mission is a top priority,” said Patel.

Earlier this month, the bureau had acknowledged that “malicious actors” appeared to be mimicking government officials through a “text and voice messaging campaign”.In Wiles’s case, sources close to the chief of staff told The Wall Street Journal that someone had hacked into her personal mobile phone, thereby accessing her contacts.