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Israel has demolished thousands of civilian buildings across Gaza since the collapse of a ceasefire with Hamas in March, leveling entire towns and suburbs in what legal experts suggest may constitute war crimes under the Geneva Convention. BBC Verify’s analysis, supported by satellite imagery and verified footage, reveals extensive destruction, particularly in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, where controlled explosions, excavators, and bulldozers have razed tower blocks, schools, and other infrastructure.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claim operational control over large swathes of Gaza, asserting that demolitions target “terrorist infrastructure” hidden in civilian areas, in line with international law. However, experts argue that the scale of destruction, including largely intact buildings, violates laws prohibiting the destruction of civilian property by an occupying power except under strict military necessity. Eitan Diamond from the Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre stated that speculative concerns about future attacks do not justify such actions. Professor Janina Dill of Oxford University added that an occupying power must prioritize the welfare of the population, not render areas uninhabitable. In Rafah, once-vibrant neighborhoods like Tel al-Sultan, home to a maternity hospital and an orphanage care center, have been reduced to rubble. Satellite images show that while some structures survived initial bombardments, subsequent demolitions cleared even damaged buildings. By July, only a few structures, including the hospital, remained standing. Similar devastation is reported in Khuza’a, a farming town of 11,000, and Abasan al-Kabira, where entire settlements were obliterated in weeks. The IDF claims 1,200 buildings in Khuza’a were “terror infrastructures,” a justification BBC Verify found unsubstantiated for specific sites. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has proposed a controversial “humanitarian city” in Rafah to house 600,000 Palestinians, a plan condemned by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as resembling a “concentration camp.” The IDF has also established security zones and corridors, demolishing buildings along routes like the one separating western and eastern Khan Younis. Some analysts suggest these actions aim to create permanent “buffer zones” or encourage Palestinian emigration, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly stating that the demolitions leave Gazans with “nowhere to return to.” Residents like Moataz Yousef Ahmed Al-Absi from Tel al-Sultan lament the loss of their homes. “I had just moved into my home a year before the war started,” he said. “Now, it’s been completely destroyed. I no longer have a home or a shelter.” Israeli media report the IDF’s recent acquisition of US-supplied D9 bulldozers, previously suspended under the Biden administration, and BBC Verify identified numerous job ads for demolition contractors in Gaza, specifying areas like the Philadelphi Corridor. While some defend the demolitions as necessary for safety or tactical reasons, the widespread destruction has drawn global outrage, with human rights lawyers calling for accountability.
