Israel is still demolishing Gaza.. building after building and on both sides of the Yellow Line

The "New York Times" published a report by journalists Samuel Granados, Adam Rasgon, Iyad Abuheweila, and Sanjana Varghese, in which they stated that the occupation state and Hamas signed, more than two months ago, a ceasefire agreement, which gave Palestinians in Gaza hope for a respite after two years of intense occupation bombing that left most of their strip in ruins, but the destruction is still ongoing. The Israeli occupation army has demolished more than 2,500 buildings in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, according to an analysis by the "New York Times" of satellite images from Planet Labs, while "Tel Aviv" claims it is destroying tunnels and booby-trapped homes. This is what "Israel's" actions look like, according to the newspaper.

A night video from October 30, when the ceasefire was in effect, shows what appears to be a large-scale organized demolition operation in a part of Shuja'iyya, a neighborhood in Gaza City, under the military control of the Israeli occupation army. As part of the ceasefire agreement reached earlier that month, the occupation army withdrew its forces beyond the agreed-upon borders within the Gaza Strip, represented on maps published by (Israel) by a yellow line. Thus, the occupation state gained control over about half of the strip.

Most of the demolitions since the start of the ceasefire have been concentrated in those areas under Israeli control, but dozens of buildings have been destroyed outside the Yellow Line in areas effectively controlled by Hamas, where the Israeli occupation army supposedly agreed to cease its operations.

In satellite images taken shortly after the truce, clusters of intact buildings can be seen in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, which extends along the Yellow Line. Images of the same area months later show that it has largely turned into a barren land. The images also show the destruction of dozens of buildings outside the Yellow Line, and in some cases up to 270 meters away.

Many of these buildings were likely already severely damaged after two years of Israeli bombing, and a UN assessment showed that as of October 11, more than 80% of Gaza's buildings were damaged or destroyed. Their residents are believed to have been displaced as a result of successive evacuation orders and fierce fighting.

Israeli officials claim that the widespread demolitions are part of efforts to "disarm" Gaza. Since the ceasefire, they have claimed that the army has destroyed underground tunnels used by armed groups and razed booby-trapped buildings. At the height of the war, which broke out on October 8, 2023, (Israelis) estimated that the tunnel network extended for hundreds of miles, with thousands of entrances, and Hamas used these tunnels to store weapons, hide hostages, and ambush Israeli occupation army soldiers.

Many Palestinians in Gaza believe that the occupation state is razing entire neighborhoods to the ground, with no regard for those who lived there or owned property in them, and given the extensive tunnel network, they fear that if (Israel) tries to demolish it completely, many of the remaining buildings in the area will be at risk.

Nevin Noufal, 35, who lived in Shuja'iyya before being forced to move, said she felt deeply saddened when she learned that the occupation was demolishing her neighborhood. She added: "Our hopes and dreams have turned into piles of rubble."

The newspaper said that the scale of the ongoing destruction is shocking. In eastern Gaza, in areas under Israeli control, satellite images show the erasure of entire neighborhoods since the ceasefire, as well as vast areas of agricultural land and plastic greenhouses.

Mohammed Al-Astal, a political analyst based in Gaza, says: "Israel is wiping entire areas off the map. The Israeli army is destroying everything in its path: homes, schools, factories, and streets. There is no security justification for what it is doing."

In turn, an Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Israel does not demolish buildings indiscriminately. He explained that buildings sometimes collapse when Israeli soldiers detonate explosives in tunnels beneath them. The official acknowledged that the army carries out demolitions on both sides of the Yellow Line, but denied that Israeli ground forces crossed the line to do so. The "New York Times" could not verify this claim. He also claimed that the Israeli Air Force was bombing facilities that posed a threat to Israeli soldiers, and that some of these facilities were located near the Yellow Line. He added that some tunnels cross the withdrawal line, so detonating them could cause buildings on both sides to collapse.

President Trump's 20-point plan to end the Gaza war, which formed the basis of the ceasefire, included "destroying all military and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons production facilities." But Israel and Hamas also agreed to suspend "all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment."

A former Israeli military official questioned the scope of the demolitions. Shaul Arieli, who commanded forces in Gaza in the 1990s, said: "This is total destruction, it is not selective destruction, but the destruction of everything."

Secret maps from the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate show an extensive tunnel network in the Shuja'iyya area, and dozens of sites where the army believes militants have planted mines in homes and roads.

The Israeli occupation army allowed the "New York Times" to view these maps, which it said were prepared for soldiers deployed in Gaza. The newspaper could not independently verify the accuracy of the maps, and Hussam Badran, a senior Hamas official in Qatar, said that Israeli demolitions constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement. He added in an interview: "The agreement is not vague, but clear. Destroying people's homes and property is not allowed. These are hostile acts."

Israeli officials stated that the army will continue demolitions "until the last tunnel," as War Minister Yisrael Katz said in November: "If there are no tunnels, there is no Hamas."

For his part, Ashraf Nasr, 32, who lived in Shuja'iyya before his displacement, said he was deeply saddened to see his hometown destroyed, saying: "Our memories have been erased. But Hamas gave Israel the pretext to commit this disaster. It militarized civilian areas."