Despite the War Ceasefire.. Israel Continues to Destroy Gaza

SadaNews - Satellite images have revealed that Israel continues to demolish buildings in the Gaza Strip on a daily basis, despite more than two months having passed since the signing of a ceasefire agreement that ended a bloody two-year war.

An analysis conducted by the American newspaper "The New York Times" on Monday, based on satellite images from the company "Planet Labs", indicated that Israel has demolished more than 2,500 buildings in Gaza since the ceasefire began in October.

Israel justifies these operations as aiming to "destroy tunnels and booby-trapped homes", while Israeli officials have confirmed that the demolition operations are part of efforts to disarm the Gaza Strip, asserting that the military has destroyed underground tunnels used by Hamas and other factions since the ceasefire.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel has retreated beyond the yellow line, which divides Gaza into almost two halves along the length of the strip.

Most of the demolition operations conducted post-agreement have taken place in the area controlled by Israel; however, dozens of buildings have also been destroyed in the other half.

Satellite images captured shortly after the truce show clusters of intact buildings in the Shujaiya neighborhood, which extends across the yellow line, but images of the same area weeks later indicate it has been turned into rubble and largely barren land.

The images also reveal that dozens of buildings have been destroyed outside the yellow line, in some cases at considerable distances from it.

Other images have shown entire neighborhoods being wiped out since the ceasefire, along with areas of agricultural land and greenhouses.

More Destruction

Palestinians have expressed concerns that the destruction of the tunnels might negatively affect the remaining buildings in the sector.

In contrast, an Israeli military official clarified that the army "does not demolish buildings randomly", adding that some buildings sometimes collapse when Israeli soldiers explode the tunnels beneath them.

The official acknowledged that the army conducts demolition operations outside the yellow line area, explaining that "the air force targets buildings that pose a threat to Israeli soldiers", noting that some of these buildings are adjacent to the yellow line.

The plan of U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza stipulates the demolition of all military and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons production factories.

Former Israeli soldier Shaul Arieli, who led forces in Gaza in the 1990s, expressed skepticism regarding the scope of the demolitions, stating: "This is absolute destruction. It is not selective demolition, but everything."