6 February 2024
Israeli soldiers are burning Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip on direct orders of their commanders, to prevent people from returning to live in them, according to an investigation carried by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper and published on its frontpage on Thursday.
The newspaper said the Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza have also taken to social media to show themselves taking part in the burning of homes in Gaza.
In the investigation, carried by Yaniv Kubovich, Haaretz said Israeli soldiers have in recent weeks started to set fire to homes in Gaza at direct orders from their commanders, without the necessary legal permission to do so. The soldiers have destroyed several hundred buildings using this method over the past month.
The army understands that the new practice may pose a challenge to the Israeli legal system with regard to US demands and possible proceedings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Haaretz wrote.
When asked about the report, an Israeli army commander told Haaretz that buildings are selected for burning based on intelligence.
When asked about a building that was set ablaze not far from where the interview took place, the commander said: “There must have been information about the landlord, or maybe something was found there. I don’t know exactly why that house was set on fire.”
Also, three officers leading the fight in Gaza confirmed to Haaretz that setting homes on fire has become common practice. A commander of one battalion told his troops last week, as they were wrapping up operations in a specific Gaza area: “Clear your things from the house, and prepare it for incineration.”
The newspaper’s investigation revealed that originally reserved only for specific cases, the practice has become more and more commonplace as the war raged on.
Israeli troops in Gaza have even taken to social media to show themselves taking part in the burning of homes – in some cases as revenge for fellow soldiers’ deaths, or even for Hamas’ October 7 attack itself.
“Every day, a different platoon goes out to raid homes in the area,” wrote one soldier. “The houses are destroyed, occupied. Now what is left is to thoroughly search them. Inside the couches. Behind the closets. Weapons, intel, [tunnel] shafts and rocket launchers. We found all of these. In the end, the house is burned, with everything in it.”
In another incident, Haaretz said soldiers who were about to leave a building left a note to troops who were coming to replace them. “We are not burning the house so you can enjoy it, and when you leave – you’ll know what to do,” read the note, which appeared in a photograph of one of the soldiers posted online.
The burning of a building means that its former tenants will not be able to return to live in it. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the Israeli army has destroyed homes belonging to Hamas members or Gaza residents who took part in the October 7 attack.
Until last month, the army’s combat engineering corps mostly used mines and explosives, and in some cases heavy machinery, such as D9 bulldozers, to demolish buildings.
Setting fire to homes belonging to non-combatant civilians, for the mere purpose of punishment, is forbidden under international law.
Haaretz said Washington recently appealed to Israel, demanding that its forces stop destroying public buildings, such as schools and clinics in Gaza, claiming that continuing to do so would harm the everyday life of Gazans who seek to return to their homes after the war.
It added that the Israeli army and officials agreed to Washington’s demand, and – barring cases in which troops faced danger from within the building – significantly reduced the use of the practice.
Moreover, the Israeli forces operating in Gaza realized that destroying houses with explosives or heavy machinery is a time and resource-consuming operation which could put soldiers in danger.
According to an analysis of satellite images published by the BBC, between 144,000 and 170,000 buildings have been damaged in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war.
A Washington Post investigation published last month found that entire swaths of the enclave have been obliterated – in Beit Hanoun, in Jabalya and in Gaza City’s Al-Karama neighborhood.
The report also noted that as of late December, 350 schools and some 170 mosques and churches have been damaged or destroyed.
In response to the report, the Israeli army spokesperson said: “Detonating and destroying buildings is done with approved, appropriate means. Actions that were carried out in different ways during the war will be looked into.”
