Satellite images show ongoing demolitions behind the ‘yellow line’; experts warn actions likely violate Geneva Convention.
Satellite images reviewed by media’s Sanad fact-checking agency show that the Israeli military has continued to demolish buildings in areas of Gaza it has occupied since a ceasefire with Hamas went into effect.
The Palestinian group has decried such demolitions as a violation of the ceasefire deal, which went into force on October 10. Legal experts and United Nations officials have said throughout the war that the destruction of civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.
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The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment from media, but officials have previously said such actions have been done within the ceasefire’s framework and were in response to active threats.
Israel has remained in control of about 58 percent of Gaza since the ceasefire began, withdrawing behind the so-called “yellow line” that divides coastal Gaza from its border regions.
Satellite images showed the latest demolitions took place between November 5 and December 13, with most concentrated in the Shujayea and the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City.
The images also appeared to show demolitions in the southern city of Rafah as well as the apparent destruction of agricultural facilities east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
In an email to media, Adil Haque, a professor of law and armed conflict at Rutgers Law School, explained that under the Fourth Geneva Convention, “any destruction by an Occupying Power of private property is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations”.
“The exception is extremely narrow. The destruction must be absolutely necessary, not merely convenient or advantageous,” Haque said. “And the absolute necessity must arise from military operations, that is, from combat or direct preparations for combat.”
“With a general ceasefire in place, and only a few sporadic exchanges of fire, it is not plausible that such significant destruction of civilian property has been rendered absolutely necessary by military operations,” he added.
Violations continue
The Sanad analysis further found that Israel appears to have created a new advanced military outpost in Tal al-Za’atar in northern Gaza, with new tents and equipment added between November 5 and December 13.
Before its creation, there were 39 active Israeli military points inside the enclave, according to Sanad.
Israeli military operations have devastated Gaza throughout the war, with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reporting last month that 282,000 housing units have been destroyed in the enclave, where about 1.5 million Palestinians remain displaced.
About 93 percent of schools have been destroyed or damaged throughout the war, with 63 percent of hospitals remaining out of commission as of December 9.
A UN Human Rights Council independent commission in September repeatedly cited attacks on civilian infrastructure, particularly medical facilities, in finding that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that 391 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the enclave since the ceasefire went into effect.
All told, at least 70,663 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1,139 people.
Last week, Hamas political bureau member Hossam Badram decried a reported statement by Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir in which the military official described the “yellow line” as the “new borderline” with Gaza.
At the time, Badran said that Hamas viewed Israeli demolitions in the area as a continuation of military operations.
