ANKARA 

A newly surfaced videotape depicted on Friday a civilian man being directed by Israeli soldiers to inspect a school in Gaza City.

The footage by Al Jazeera media network obtained from a downed Israeli drone, captured what appeared to be Israeli soldiers using a detained Palestinian man as a human shield to inspect an abandoned school in Shujaiya neighborhood.

The footage dates back to December 2023.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities on the video.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 which killed some 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 77,800 others injured.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January ordered Tel Aviv to prevent genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi