The Palestinian militant group Hamas is again using civilians as human shields as it launches attacks from or near hospitals and mosques in Gaza, as it has done in conflicts with Israel since 2007.

The latest war between Israel and Hamas was set in motion on October 7, when Hamas gunmen attacked Israel from Gaza by land, sea and air, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping more than 200.

As Israel retaliates against Hamas in an aerial and ground assault, the Iran-backed militant group has faced criticism for its use of protected structures -- such as hospitals, mosques and schools -- to hide weapons and launch attacks.

Using civilians as human shields is a war crime, according to the International Criminal Court.

Hamas has been placing civilians in harm's way by firing rockets, artillery and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated areas, according to a report by the Latvia-based NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.

The militant group also locates its military or security-related infrastructure, such as headquarters, bases, armories, access routes, weapons factories or defensive positions, within or in proximity to civilian areas, the report says.

It uses civilians for intelligence gathering operations, and battles Israel Defence Forces (IDF) from residential or commercial areas, the report adds, noting that "by engaging in these acts, Hamas employs a win-win scenario."

"If the IDF uses lethal force and causes an increase in civilian casualties, Hamas can ... accuse Israel of committing war crimes, which could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions," it said.

"Alternatively, if the IDF limits its use of military force in Gaza to avoid collateral damage, Hamas will be less susceptible to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight."

Military use of hospitals, mosques

Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, conceals underground command centers for Hamas, the Israeli military said at a Friday (October 27) news conference.

Israeli military chief spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari showed a map of the hospital marking what the IDF says are generators, depots, command and control centers, and several underground complexes used by Hamas.

"This is where they direct rocket attacks, command Hamas forces," he said.

In a news conference later Friday night, Hamas-run Gaza government media office head Salama Marouf denied the accusations.

A PBS documentary produced in 2006 shows Hamas fighters roaming the halls of al-Shifa, intimidating staff and denying access to parts of the hospital, the Foundation for Defence of Democracies reported October 23.

In 2007, Hamas fired at its rival Fatah from within the al-Shifa complex, according to Human Rights Watch.

And in 2008, the New York Times reported that Hamas was operating openly from within al-Shifa, where it murdered at least six patients it accused of collaborating with Israel.

Hamas leadership was located in a bunker under the hospital's burn ward, the newspaper reported in December 2008, while the group's fighters fired rockets from areas near the hospital in an effort to deter an Israeli response.

In 2009, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) detailed Hamas's use of mosques in the Gaza strip for military purposes.

"They are used to hide terrorist operatives, store weapons, as sites from which rockets and mortar shells are launched," it said.

During the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel, multiple independent media outlets reported on Hamas's use of al-Shifa and other civilian infrastructure, including mosques, in Gaza.

ITIC also cited Palestinian sources who said Hamas used al-Shifa's X-ray department as a jail and interrogation facility.

In 2015, Amnesty International cited evidence of Hamas torturing and killing prisoners in al-Shifa.

More than 60,000 Palestinian civilians are currently sheltering at al-Shifa.

By launching rockets from the hospital complex, Hamas is putting them at risk.