Call for Investigation from Amnesty International
In its written statement, Amnesty International emphasized that a new investigation process should be initiated. According to the statement, the implementation of the buffer zone expanded by the Israeli army along the eastern perimeter of the occupied Gaza Strip should be examined in depth within the scope of “deliberate destruction and collective punishment war crimes”.
In the statement, it was stated that Amnesty International Crisis Evidence Laboratory analyzed satellite images and videos shared on social media by Israeli soldiers between October 2023 and May 2024, and identified newly evacuated lands along the eastern border of Gaza, approximately 1 to 1.8 kilometers wide . . Among these videos, it is noteworthy that some Israeli soldiers are seen taking photos or celebrating while watching buildings collapse in the background.
Additionally, the Israeli army unlawfully destroyed agricultural land and civilian buildings using bulldozers and hand-laid explosives; It was recorded that it destroyed entire neighborhoods, including houses, schools and mosques.
Director of Global Research, Advocacy and Policy Erika Guevara-Rosas, described this situation as “the Israeli army’s brutal campaign of destruction in Gaza, a kind of arbitrary destruction.” “Our investigations show how Israeli forces destroyed settlements, forced thousands of families from their homes and made their lands uninhabitable,” Guevara-Rosas said.
The organization’s analysis reveals a systematic pattern of destruction along Gaza’s eastern perimeter. Guevara-Rosas said, “These houses were not destroyed as a result of intense clashes. On the contrary, the Israeli army deliberately destroyed the land after taking control of the area. The creation of any ‘buffer zone’ should not mean collective punishment of “Palestinian civilians living in these neighborhoods.”
It was also reported that the organization asked Israeli officials questions about the demolitions on July 2, but no response was received as of the date the statement was published.
