Airstrikes, explosive vehicles, and bulldozers cause 'insane' destruction in Gaza City, eyewitnesses and civil defense say

Mondoweiss | Tareq S. Hajjaj

The Israeli army is using airstrikes, rigged explosive APCs, and bulldozing operations to level neighborhoods and displacement centers in Gaza City. Eyewitnesses and local officials say it is to cause mass flight and prevent residents from returning.

Ahead of its planned full-scale invasion of Gaza City, the Israeli army is causing widespread destruction in the Strip's largest urban center, forcing residents to evacuate ahead of its publicly declared start date: October 7.

Recent reports from eyewitnesses and the Gaza Civil Defense show that the Israeli army has been using retrofitted armored personnel carriers (APCs) that are sent into dense population centers, including neighborhoods and displacement centers, before they are remotely detonated.

The attacks continue alongside an extensive bulldozing operation in the city and constant aerial bombardment. Between August 12 and August 18, the Israeli army destroyed over 400 buildings in the Zaytoun neighborhood and launched a limited ground incursion at its edges. The army also launched a similar operation in the Sabra neighborhood, west of Gaza City.

Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told Mondoweiss that the Israeli army destroyed over 1,500 buildings in Gaza City in aerial strikes alone since August 6, largely in Zaytoun and Sabra.

Basal explained that the Civil Defense continues to receive calls from trapped civilians in the two neighborhoods, but that there is no way to reach them due to heavy shelling and bombardment.

"We're afraid that the Israeli invasion will get even deeper into Gaza City and that Civil Defense crews will be unable to reach the places they bomb. Nowhere in Gaza is safe, whether north or south. Bombs chase residents from their homes, from their displacement centers, and even from their tents."

Abdulwahhab Ismail, a resident of the Saftawi area in northwestern Gaza, evacuated his neighborhood on Tuesday after several buildings on his street were detonated by what he described as explosive "robots."  

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