Israel’s Controlled Demolitions Are Razing Neighborhoods in Gaza
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- Written by Leanne Abraham, Bora Erden, Nader Ibrahim, Elena Shao and Haley Willis Leanne Abraham, Bora Erden, Nader Ibrahim, Elena Shao and Haley Willis
- Published: 01 February 2024 01 February 2024
This article by the NY Times shows how Israel is systematically destroying what remains of Gaza's civilian infrastructure.
The damage caused by Israel’s aerial offensive in Gaza has been well documented. But Israeli ground forces have also carried out a wave of controlled explosions that has drastically changed the landscape in recent months.
At least 33 controlled demolitions have destroyed hundreds of buildings — including mosques, schools and entire sections of residential neighborhoods — since November, a New York Times analysis of Israeli military footage, social media videos and satellite imagery shows.
In response to questions about the demolitions, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said that soldiers are “locating and destroying terror infrastructures embedded, among other things, inside buildings” in civilian areas — adding that sometimes entire neighborhoods act as “combat complexes” for Hamas fighters.
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“Israel’s plan is to destroy Gaza and make it unliveable 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.”
Two days after the 21 Israeli soldiers were killed in central Gaza, another demolition video was filmed. In it, a soldier says that, in their memory, 21 homes would be destroyed.
Read more on the NY Times