Daily Explosion of 17 Booby-Trapped Vehicles in Gaza Equivalent to a 3.7 Magnitude Earthquake

SadaNews - The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated that the Israeli occupation forces exploded approximately 120 booby-trapped vehicles loaded with nearly 840 tons of explosives among residential homes in Gaza City during the past week, averaging over 17 vehicles daily. Each explosion is equivalent to an earthquake of 3.7 on the Richter scale, marking the largest campaign of excessive force aimed at destroying the population, amidst a severe escalation of ongoing genocide for the 24th consecutive month against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor clarified that according to scientific standards used for measuring explosive energy and earthquakes, estimates from seismologists and military physicists show that detonating 6-7 tons of TNT, which is the load carried by each of the vehicles being exploded in Gaza, is roughly equivalent to the energy released by a natural earthquake of 3.7 on the Richter scale.

It was noted that according to scientific estimates in the field of explosive energy, areas of severe destruction typically extend for tens of meters (estimated here to be about 90 meters for a high intensity level), while the effects of fractures and minor damage can reach several hundred meters, and may extend in open areas to nearly one kilometer.

The monitor confirmed that according to the field documentation by its team in Gaza City, the explosions of booby-trapped military vehicles by the Israeli occupation forces cause noticeable vibrations in buildings even several kilometers away from the explosion center, and the shaking lasts for several seconds, similar to what natural earthquakes cause.

The Euro-Mediterranean monitor pointed out that due to the damage and destruction sustained by all buildings in Gaza from the continuous bombardment over more than 23 months of the Israeli military aggression, any new explosion results in more severe impacts, as the buildings are already cracked and the open spaces intensify the explosion's force, causing damage to dozens of buildings at distances reaching hundreds of meters with each new explosion of booby-trapped vehicles.

The Euro-Mediterranean monitor asserted that the pattern of Israel's use of decommissioned armored vehicles and converting them into huge blocks of explosives directed electronically is unprecedented in scale and level in human history. Nevertheless, this brutal behavior faces no effective response from the international community, reflecting a blatant double standard, a lack of justice, and indifference to the lives of Palestinians.

The monitor warned of the intensified Israeli occupation army's use of booby-trapped vehicles loaded with tons of explosives over the past week in three axes of Gaza City, namely the southern, eastern, and northern axes; aimed at destroying the central residential blocks in the city, as part of its declared goal of destroying the city and its population through killing and displacement.

The Euro-Mediterranean monitor reiterated that the catastrophic effect of the booby-trapped vehicles is not limited to the extensive physical destruction of residential neighborhoods and the resultant rubble and displacement, but extends to a systematic use of psychological terror against the civilian population by sowing the utmost degrees of fear and horror, forcing them to be displaced. The explosions create loud noises that shake the entire city of Gaza, and the remaining buildings tremble under the force of the violent explosive waves, while residents live under the impact of repeated shocks that turn their daily lives into a state of constant fear, distress, and insecurity.

The Euro-Mediterranean monitor emphasized that the international community's inaction and complicity from some of its parties, and the reluctance of influential countries and concerned international organizations and entities to hold Israel accountable for its crimes, have enabled the occupation army to continue its crime of openly destroying Gaza City without even attempting to resort to legal justifications to legitimize it, which entrenches a policy of impunity and weakens the effectiveness of the international legal system in protecting civilians from the gravest international crimes, including genocide, which imposes binding obligations on the entire international community to act to prevent and halt it and to hold perpetrators accountable.

It stressed that Israel's use of booby-trapped vehicles is explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law as they are considered indiscriminate weapons by nature that cannot be accurately targeted or confined to military objectives alone. It pointed out that due to their wide-ranging explosive nature, they directly and indiscriminately harm civilians and civilian objects, in clear violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality, which are fundamental pillars of international humanitarian law.

It noted that these weapons fall under the category of prohibited weapons, and their use in residential areas constitutes a war crime in itself, and also constitutes a crime against humanity as long as it results in killings, forced displacement, deprivation of essential living conditions, or causing severe suffering within the framework of a systematic or widespread attack directed against the civilian population. Furthermore, the systematic use of booby-trapped vehicles as currently conducted, to destroy residential neighborhoods and deprive the residents of their homes and conditions for living, transforms them into a direct tool for committing acts of genocide, as this pattern of destruction clearly fits within the actions defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, particularly the intentional imposition of living conditions intended to bring about the total or partial destruction of the group.

The Euro-Mediterranean monitor explained that the use of these destructive means, particularly booby-trapped vehicles, affects not only the loss of lives and displacement of populations in deadly conditions, but also aims to completely erase neighborhoods and infrastructure, preventing any possibility of revitalizing life in the city, and undermining the future of Palestinians and their inherent right to remain on their land and return to their homes.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called on the United Nations General Assembly to take immediate action based on its historic resolution No. 377 A(V) of 1950 known as "Uniting for Peace," which grants it, when the Security Council fails to perform its responsibilities due to a veto or lack of consensus, the authority to convene an emergency special session and adopt appropriate collective recommendations, including the establishment of a peacekeeping force or taking collective measures to maintain international peace and security.

It urged the General Assembly to adopt an urgent resolution under this framework to establish and deploy a peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip to ensure the cessation of crimes against civilians, guarantee unobstructed access and distribution of humanitarian assistance, protect health and relief facilities, end the blockade, and support reconstruction, emphasizing that activating this path is a legal and moral obligation for the international community to protect civilians in Gaza.

The Euro-Mediterranean monitor urged all countries, individually and collectively, to assume their legal responsibilities and take urgent action to stop the crime of genocide in Gaza by all its means, and to take all effective measures to protect Palestinian civilians there, ensuring Israel's compliance with the rules of international law and the decisions of the International Court of Justice.