On July 24, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bipartisan bill that would sanction those engaging in and supporting the use of “human shields,” which refers to the placing of non-combatants around combatants to deter enemy attack, therefore putting countless civilian lives at risk. This despicable act has been utilized by a number of terror groups against the United States and Israel, with some of the most violent offenders including Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State. The bill, known as the ‘STOP Using Human Shields Act,’ enjoys support from those on both sides of the aisle, with co-sponsors including John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), David Perdue (R-Georgia), Jim Donnelly (D-Indiana), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), and Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts). Speaking in support of the bill, Senator Cruz noted “America, Israel, and our other allies are engaged in a fight against radical Islamic terrorist organizations…who cynically use human shields against us…The United States should hold accountable the monsters who commit these war crimes. This bill will impose consequences on those who enable and facilitate the use of human shields.” The use of human shields, or rather “utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations,” constitutes a war crime in international conflict under the Third and Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as Additional Protocol I. Despite its illicit nature, terror groups like Hamas have not hesitated to take part in this deplorable practice. As outlined in a report published by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2014, “During confrontations with Israel, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have adopted various tactics of using civilians as human shields.” However, as Senator Cruz points out, countries like Israel are often blamed for civilian casualties while these terror groups face little repercussion: “Unfortunately, organizations like the United Nations incentivize this barbaric tactic by blaming civilized countries, who do everything possible to avoid civilian causalities.” Senator Rubio echoed this sentiment saying, “Terrorist organizations like Hamas in Gaza continue their efforts to kill and terrorize innocent civilians while using human shields in the process showing their utter disregard for human life. This bill is an important step in holding accountable those involved in this heinous practice.” Similarly, Senator Donnelly offered support for the bill saying, “I hope the Senate will soon consider this bipartisan legislation that I’m partnering on with Senator Cruz, because it would condemn this practice and impose sanctions on any individuals involved in such reprehensible activities.” In an effort to hold these violators of international law accountable, this bill would empower the President to impose sanctions on “each foreign person that is a member of a foreign terrorist organization,” or “each agency or instrumentality of a foreign state that the President has determined” to have been complicit in any attempt to use civilians or protected property to deliberately cause casualties or shield lawful targets from attack. These sanctions would take the form of blocking property—which involves prohibiting transactions in property of those who are found to use this tactic—as well as rendering such individuals inadmissible to the United States, ineligible to receive visas, or to be paroled into the United States. The use of human shields is not only a violation of international humanitarian law, but also an affront to human decency. This bill, which has been endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Christians United for Israel, and enjoys widespread bipartisan support, would bring the United States one step closer to holding terror groups accountable.