Israeli army detonates booby-trapped robots loaded with tons of explosives to expand the circle of killing and destruction in northern Gaza

A screenshot taken from scenes broadcast by Al Jazeera News Channel of an Israeli booby-trapped robot in a neighborhood in Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip - May 2024

October 13, 2024 Israel-Palestinian Territories Share on

Palestinian Territories - The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that the Israeli occupation army is using booby-trapped robots loaded with tons of explosives in the extensive destruction and killing operations it is carrying out in northern Gaza, during its ongoing invasion for the ninth consecutive day, with the escalation of the crime of genocide against the Palestinians there by committing massacres, premeditated murder, starvation, and large-scale forced displacement.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor explained that the Israeli army completely separated the northern Gaza governorate from Gaza City, by positioning vehicles, placing sand barriers and rubble of destroyed homes, in addition to fire cover from drones.

This robot destroys about 6 or 7 homes at once. The occupation army blows up the robot in homes without knowing whether there are civilians inside or not

Eyewitness in Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor highlighted that it received numerous testimonies about the Israeli army's use of booby-trapped robots and their remote detonation, causing widespread damage to homes and surrounding buildings and significant loss of life, at a time when the work of ambulance and civil defense crews is almost completely disrupted, except for a narrow area in some neighborhoods.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that Israel's use of booby-trapped robots is prohibited under international law, as these robots are considered random weapons that cannot be directed or their effects limited to military targets only. Due to their nature, they directly hit civilians, or hit military targets, civilians or civilian objects indiscriminately. Therefore, it is considered a prohibited weapon under international law, and its use in residential areas constitutes an international crime in itself.

In his testimony to the Euro-Mediterranean team, one of the people trapped in one of the neighborhoods near the "Al-Qassabi" neighborhood southwest of Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip (the name of the witness is being withheld by Euro-Mediterranean for security reasons) said: "On Wednesday evening (October 9), a huge explosion occurred in the Al-Qassabi neighborhood, close to where we were. The sound of the explosion was very loud, I had never heard it before, we have become able to distinguish between the sounds of explosions, we know whether this sound is from bombing by aircraft, artillery, or something else. In fact, the sound of the explosion was many times louder than the sound of air strikes, to the point that white dust covered the entire area. We later found out that this explosion was the result of the detonation of a robot loaded with tons of explosives, and that this robot destroyed about 6 or 7 houses at once. The occupation army detonates the robot in the houses without knowing whether there are civilians inside them or not."

The Euro-Mediterranean field team documented the Israeli army blowing up two other robots in the "Tawam" area and in the "Zahraa" neighborhood adjacent to the Civil Defense west of Jabalia camp, and another robot in the vicinity of the "Abu Ali Mustafa" intersection in "Bir al-Naja" in the western areas of Jabalia camp. Another witness trapped in the Faluja area told the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor: “There were huge explosions in the area where we are trapped near the Al-Sharafi roundabout, and we cannot tell what they are,” adding that more than 50 people are currently trapped in a house, three of whom were injured but could not be transferred to the hospital.”

The Israeli army began using these robots for the first time in Gaza last May, during the second incursion into Jabalia camp. This led to the killing of a number of civilians and the destruction of several homes in the camp. At the end of last May, images emerged from the “Tamraz Station” area in the middle of Jabalia camp of two booby-trapped robots prepared for detonation.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor confirmed that the Israeli army has expanded its operations to destroy and blow up homes and residential buildings in the areas of its incursion in northern Gaza, using three methods: aerial bombardment, booby-trapped robots, and planting homes with explosives and blowing them up.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor indicated that despite the difficulty of obtaining an accurate number of The population in the North Gaza Governorate, however, estimates indicate that there are more than 200,000 people in the remains of destroyed homes and shelters, and they reject the systematic and public Israeli plans to forcibly displace them, as the Israeli forces issued no less than six displacement orders within a week, including dropping leaflets calling on residents to head to the southern Gaza Strip.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned that there are about 200,000 others in the Gaza Governorate who are also suffering from the ongoing bombing and hunger as a result of the cessation of the entry of aid and goods, which means that more than 400,000 residents in the northern Gaza Valley are exposed to various types of killing, displacement and starvation.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned that those who survive the killing and direct bombing remain at risk of death by hunger or thirst, as the Israeli forces prevent the entry of any aid to the north of Gaza, and have destroyed and burned bakeries there, in addition to bulldozing what remained of water wells. Moreover, the population trapped in their homes and shelters cannot move to search for any food in their surroundings, and some of them have been forced to be internally displaced several times, forcing them to abandon their belongings and their food and water supplies. Therefore, most of them are trapped without food or the necessities of life.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated that despite the Israeli occupation army’s request for residents to move south via Salah al-Din Street, they are targeted as soon as they leave their homes or shelters. Israeli aircraft have also fired at several shelters, wounding dozens of displaced people inside them.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor indicated that the health situation in northern Gaza is catastrophic, as Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is partially operating, has become the main hospital receiving victims, despite the Israeli occupation army’s order to its management to evacuate it completely. Al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals are also partially operating due to the small number of medical staff. Ambulance and civil defense crews face difficulties in moving to transport victims after the Israeli attacks, either as a result of roads being cut off after more homes were destroyed, or because they were targeted by Israeli quadcopter fire.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called on the United Nations and the international community to intervene immediately to save hundreds of thousands of residents of northern Gaza, stop the genocide committed by Israel for the second year in a row, impose a comprehensive arms embargo on it, hold it accountable and punish it for all its crimes, and take all effective measures to protect Palestinian civilians there.