Israeli Forces Flatten Gaza Border Areas to Create Militarized Zone
Israeli forces have already destroyed 1,100 of the 2,800 buildings in Gaza's border areas | Israel is destroying buildings and flattening areas of Gaza on the Israeli border to create a so-called “buffer zone” that Israel will militarize, demonstrating its long-term plans to occupy the Strip. ● According to The Wall Street Journal, Israeli soldiers began working in November in an area in northern Gaza to create a wasteland roughly 1 kilometer in width. “Everything has been flattened,” one soldier said. “It was mostly agriculture. Now it’s a military zone, a complete no man’s land.” ● Twenty-one Israeli soldiers were recently killed while planting explosives in a central Gaza neighborhood near the border as part of the work to destroy Gaza’s border areas. A Hamas rocket hit a nearby tank, detonating the explosives and collapsing the buildings. According to a recent report from Israel’s N12 news, Israeli forces have already destroyed 1,100 of the 2,800 buildings in the border areas.
■ Gaza death toll rises to 26,083 as 183 more Palestinians killed over last 24 hours: Health Ministry (Anadolu)
■ Hamas says war death toll soars past 26,000 (Hürriyet)
■ Israeli assaults on Gaza leave 14 Palestinians dead, dozens wounded (Anadolu)
■ US to supply F-35, F-15 fighter jets to Israel amid Gaza war (Anadolu)