The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has reported that the Israeli army is using booby-trapped robots loaded with explosives to carry out widespread destruction and killings in northern Gaza. According to the rights group, these actions include massacres, deliberate killings, enforced starvation, and mass displacement.
In a report released on Monday, the organization detailed testimonies indicating that these remotely detonated robots have caused extensive damage to homes and buildings, resulting in significant casualties and obstructing the efforts of civil defense and ambulance teams.
The Geneva-based organization emphasized that Israel’s use of such robots violates international law, as they are deemed indiscriminate weapons that cannot be confined to military targets. “These robots indiscriminately strike civilians, military targets, and civilian property,” the statement asserted. “Using them in residential areas constitutes a crime against humanity.”
The report also highlighted that the Israeli army has effectively isolated northern Gaza from the city of Gaza by deploying vehicles and constructing sand barriers, compounded by aerial cover from drones.
A resident trapped near the Al-Qassabi neighborhood shared a harrowing account of a massive explosion on October 9. For safety reasons, their name was withheld. “The explosion was louder than anything we’ve ever heard, even more so than airstrikes,” the witness recounted.
“We later learned it was caused by a robot loaded with explosives, destroying six or seven houses in one blast, regardless of civilian presence.”
The report indicated that the Israeli army first employed these robots in Gaza during a May incursion into the Jabalia refugee camp. The group noted an escalation in destruction methods, including aerial bombardments, explosive robots, and explosives planted in homes.
Those who survive the bombings face the dire threat of starvation and lack of water, as Israeli forces have blocked aid to northern Gaza and destroyed essential resources, including bakeries and water wells.
Since the military offensive began on October 6, over 200,000 people in northern Gaza are trapped in the ruins of their homes, while another 200,000 risk starvation and violence, endangering over 400,000 residents overall.
