On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the Israeli occupation army deliberately burned hundreds of homes inside the Gaza Strip with all their property, and quoted officers from the occupation army as confirming that burning homes had become a “common means of destruction.” .

The Israeli newspaper, quoting three officers participating in the leadership of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, confirmed: “The burning operations were carried out on the orders of field officers and without obtaining the necessary judicial approvals.”

It also added that "some of the burning operations were in retaliation by the soldiers for the killing of their colleagues in the same unit."

According to the Haaretz report, three officers leading the ground attack on the Gaza Strip confirmed that setting fire to homes had become one of the paths of operations on the ground, and in some cases soldiers burned homes in which they were residing during their operations on the ground. In one case, an army battalion was about to end its “activity” in a combat center in the Gaza Strip, when one of the battalion commanders issued orders to the soldiers: “Take your belongings out of the house, and prepare it for fire.”

The report indicated that soldiers who participated in the aggression against the Gaza Strip recently published accounts of burning homes, some of which were for the purpose of avenging the killing of fellow soldiers, and sometimes out of revenge for the Al-Aqsa flood operation on October 7th.

It explained that in one case, before leaving a house, soldiers left a message for their colleagues who would come after them, in which they said: “We did not burn the house so that you could enjoy it. When you leave, you will know what to do.”

The Haaretz report confirmed that these burning operations target the homes of civilians who have no connection to the resistance factions or to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, and these burning operations are not part of the destruction operations that the army does not hide that it has been carrying out since an early stage of the war, claiming that they belong to Hamas activists and people who participated in the storming of Settlements around the Gaza Strip on October 7, or by claiming that these homes are Hamas infrastructure, or that there is Hamas infrastructure near them.

International law prohibits setting fire to the homes of civilians not participating in the fighting for punitive purposes only.

Haaretz said that the United States recently asked Israel to stop demolishing public buildings in the Gaza Strip, such as schools and clinics, because that would harm Gazans seeking to return to their homes after the war, claiming that Israel accepted the American request, and the scope of destruction of abandoned homes was reduced. Not only because of the American request, but also because the forces operating in the Gaza Strip realized that these destruction operations require time and resources, and expose the soldiers participating in these activities to danger.

Among the most prominent public buildings that were burned or destroyed by the occupation army were: the University of Palestine, the Khalifa School affiliated with the UNRWA Relief Agency (UNRWA), Al-Azhar University, and entire residential squares in the north, center and south of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupation army also destroyed more than 200 archaeological and heritage sites of 325 registered sites in the Gaza Strip.

The occupation army received a painful blow during one of the destruction operations, in the Maghazi camp, where the Al-Qassam Brigades attacked the forces after preparing two buildings to blow them up, which led to the killing of at least 21 soldiers and officers and the injury of dozens, according to the official Israeli announcement.

According to an analysis of satellite images published by the British Broadcasting Corporation, between 144,000 and 177,000 buildings have been damaged in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression until this week. While a Washington Post investigation reported that 350 schools and 170 mosques and churches in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed by the occupation army by the time the investigation was published last month.

The Haaretz report stated that the widespread destruction caused by the occupation army in Gaza led to discussions in academic circles about the possibility of blaming Israel for destroying “the living environment of the people of Gaza.” She explained that this term refers to destruction committed as obstacles against residents, in a way that does not allow the restoration and resettlement of a residential environment.

Field executions

These testimonies come at a time when the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, on Wednesday, accused Israel of committing a "death penalty" against dozens of Palestinians, the day after the bodies of 30 dead people were found bound in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

The club said in a statement: “Yesterday (Tuesday) in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, it was revealed that the bodies of 30 martyrs were found inside one of the schools that was besieged by the occupation.”

It also added: “It became clear, through the observations of those present at the scene, that the martyrs were handcuffed and blindfolded, that is, they were under arrest,” considering that “a clear indication that the occupation carried out a field execution against these people.”

It added, "Data regarding the executions of detainees from Gaza is increasing in light of the continuation of genocide in Gaza, in addition to the continuation of the crime of enforced disappearance against Gaza detainees after 117 days."

The club also noted "an increase in testimonies from detainees who were released, over the past period, about torture, abuse and humiliation, including testimonies from women and children."

It considered that "the occupation's insistence on keeping Gaza detainees under enforced disappearance has only one explanation, which is that there is a decision to isolate them, with the aim of carrying out more crimes against them in secret."

The club pointed out that "the occupation authorities refuse to provide human rights institutions, including the relevant international and Palestinian ones, with any information regarding the fate and places of detention of detainees to date, including the martyrs detained in Gaza."

New massacres

Earlier Wednesday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the number of victims of the Israeli war on the Strip had risen to 26,900 martyrs and 65,949 injured since October 7, 2023, in a statement issued by the Ministry in which it presented the latest statistics on “the 117th day of the brutal Israeli aggression.” On the Gaza Strip.

The ministry said: “On the 117th day of the war, the toll of the Israeli aggression rose to 26,900 martyrs and 65,949 injuries since the seventh of last October.”

It also stated that "the Israeli occupation committed 16 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, claiming 150 dead and 313 injuries during the past 24 hours."

Then it continued: “There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the roads, and the occupation prevents ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them.”

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, with most of its victims being children and women, according to the Palestinian authorities, and causing “massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to the United Nations.