Israeli forces have demolished multiple buildings in Gaza, including a resort hotel, a courthouse, and numerous homes, using controlled explosions. The widespread destruction caused by Israel’s aerial offensive in Gaza has been extensively reported. However, Israeli ground forces have also carried out a wave of controlled explosions that has drastically altered the landscape in recent months.
According to a New York Times analysis of Israeli military footage, social media videos, and satellite imagery, at least 33 controlled demolitions have destroyed hundreds of buildings, including mosques, schools, and entire sections of residential neighborhoods, since November. The Israeli military spokesperson stated that soldiers are locating and destroying terror infrastructures embedded in civilian areas and sometimes entire neighborhoods act as combat complexes for Hamas fighters.
Israeli officials stated that the demolitions were part of an effort to create a security buffer zone inside Gaza to make it harder for fighters to carry out cross-border attacks. However, most of the demolition locations identified by The Times occurred well outside the so-called buffer zone. The number of confirmed demolitions may represent only a portion of the actual number carried out by Israel since the war began.
To carry out these demolitions, soldiers enter the targeted structures to place mines or other explosives, and then leave to trigger them from a safe distance. In most cases, Israeli troops have cleared and secured surrounding areas. But in areas of active fighting, the demolitions are not without risk.
Twenty-one Israeli soldiers were killed last week as their unit prepared to detonate multiple buildings near the border in central Gaza. Palestinian fighters fired a rocket-propelled grenade in their direction, triggering the explosives, Israeli officials said. The soldiers were clearing the area to allow residents of southern Israel to safely return to their homes, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for Israel’s military.
Experts on humanitarian law say the demolitions could violate rules of war prohibiting the deliberate destruction of civilian property. The large controlled demolitions represent some of the single most destructive episodes in Gaza.
In some videos, the demolitions appear to be targeting underground infrastructure. Others capture the destruction of mosques, U.N.-affiliated schools, and university buildings. After U.S. officials raised questions about the decision to demolish the university, the Israeli military said the episode was “under review.” For Palestinians, the demolitions are yet another symbol of loss and destruction in Gaza, raising questions about the territory’s future after decades of displacement and war.
“Israel’s plan is to destroy Gaza and make it unlivable and lifeless,” said Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain. “Israel’s goal has always been to make it impossible for our people to return to their land.”
