Report on Countering the Use of Human Shields

Statutory Text

(a) In General.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this division, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that contains the following:

(1) A description of the lessons learned from the United States and its allies and partners in addressing the use of human shields by terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestine Islamic Jihad, and any other organization as determined by the Secretary of Defense.

(2) A description of a specific plan and actions being taken by the Department of Defense to incorporate the lessons learned as identified in paragraph (1) into Department of Defense operating guidance, relevant capabilities, and tactics, techniques, and procedures to deter, counter, and address the challenge posed by the use of human shields and hold accountable terrorist organizations for the use of human shields.

(3) A description of specific measures being developed and implemented by the United States Government to mobilize and leverage allied nations, including member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to deter, counter, and hold accountable terrorist organizations for the use of human shields.

(4) The current status of joint exercises, doctrine development, education, and training on countering the use of human shields in multinational centers of excellence.

(5) The current status of participation of members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense civilian personnel in any multinational center of excellence for the purposes of countering the use of human shields.

(6) The feasibility and advisability of beginning or continuing participation of members of the Armed Forces and

Department of Defense civilian personnel to promote the integration of joint exercises, doctrine development, education, and training on countering the use of human shields into multinational centers of excellence.

Verbatim from the enrolled law as published by GovInfo; margin notes and page markers omitted. Pub. L. 118-50 on GovInfo · PDF · text fetched Oct. 17, 2026

How the Date Is Worked Out

1. Enacted Apr. 24, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-50).
2. Text: “Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this division.” Apr. 24, 2024 + 120 days = Aug. 22, 2024.
3. As of Nov. 11, 2026: one-time deadline passed on Aug. 22, 2024.

Delivery Status

Not publicly verifiable

Public Evidence

• No public document located that shows delivery.

Evidence Searched

• GovInfo Congressionally Mandated Reports collection: 1,209 packages listed; titles searched for Middle East terms; 55 State, Defense, Treasury and executive-office summaries checked for citations to Pub. L. 118-50 (0 found) (Oct. 17, 2026)
• Federal Register API: phrase “Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act”: 1 document titles searched (Oct. 17, 2026)
• Federal Register API: phrase “Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act”: 1 document titles searched (Oct. 17, 2026)
• Federal Register API: phrase “Hamas International Financing Prevention Act”: 0 document titles searched (Oct. 17, 2026)
• MEF hand review: evidence.json, items with a link and a note on what the document shows (Oct. 17, 2026)

A status of “Reported late by GAO, committee or agency” appears only with a linked GAO, committee or agency statement. Reports sent only to committees, or in classified form, leave no public trace; their absence here is not evidence of a missed deadline.

Review

• Machine-extracted by rule from the public law text; awaiting named human review.