A damning report has found that Hamas are “deliberately and systematically” using Gazan civilians as human shields in order to use their deaths for propaganda purposes. The group, which the US and UK have designated as a terrorist organisation, launched a brutal assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 Israelis were murdered and 251 were taken hostage.

The resulting conflict has seen as many as 50,000 people killed in Israeli strikes, according to Palestinian health authorities, although this number is impossible to verify, as is the cause of death of those included in the statistics. Israel has been largely condemned for its part in the killing, with a case being lodged in the International Court of Justice accusing the country of genocide, but the report’s author believes that the role of Hamas in the killing is too often overlooked.

Andrew Fox a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society who previously served as a Major in the Parachute Regiment, told the Daily Express: “This report is the missing chapter from every UN statement, every NGO report, and every media narrative that has ignored how Hamas weaponised Gaza’s civilians.”

Fox, who served three tours of Afghanistan, believes that the group “want their fellow Palestinians to die in vast numbers” and have “created ‘death trap’ conditions for millions of people” deliberately.

He added: “The truth is simple and devastating: every death Hamas could provoke became a propaganda asset.”

Co-author Salo Aizenberg, a leading researcher on media bias and casualty data, believes that the terror group are fighting a war on multiple fronts, including in the information sphere.

She said: “This war wasn’t just fought with rockets. It was fought with camera lenses and casualty counts.

“By ignoring how Hamas deliberately blurred the line between combatant and civilian, much of the world became an unknowing accomplice in their war strategy.”

Since the Israel Defence Force (IDF) commenced military action in Gaza, pro-Palestinian marches have erupted regularly across Europe and North America, highlighting the disparity between criticism of Israel and that directed towards Hamas.

The report accuses international organisations and media outlets of wilfully and subconsciously downplaying the role of Hamas in starting the conflict and their conduct throughout, which has contributed to thousands of civilian casualties.

It said: “The UN and many NGOs accusing Israel of war crimes and genocide disregard Hamas’s human shield strategy. This glaring omission erases Hamas as an active party in the conflict, instead placing full blame for civilian casualties on Israel.”

Using a civilian or other protected person as a shield for military operations is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and is considered a war crime, but the report shows that “the UN has rarely acknowledged and never asserted the use by Hamas of “human shields”.”

It adds: “The phenomenon of “human shields” has only been mentioned four times, in each case in only a single sentence, as either an “allegation”, an Israeli “claim” or an unverified “report” that this practice occurred.

“The UN has never dedicated a single paragraph, let alone an entire report, to analysing how Hamas has fought the war in Gaza.”

The report documents evidence of senior Hamas commanders boasting about Gazans becoming “martyred” and highlights the vast tunnel network underneath civilian areas, which they use to launch attacks on the IDF but don't allow for civilian use.

It said: “The IDF has provided thousands of high-quality videos and photographs of its activities in Gaza that prove without doubt that Hamas has militarised large portions of the civilian infrastructure of the Gaza Strip.

“However, even when Hamas’s human shield tactics are plainly evident, they are often presented by the media as unsubstantiated claims, and not as a leading cause of civilian casualties in Gaza.”

The UN has been approached for comment.