Booby-trapped robots explode in northern Gaza neighborhoods, killing civilians and destroying homes
By bellecarter // 2024-10-22
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A human rights nonprofit revealed, citing eyewitnesses' testimonies, that Israel has been letting remotely detonated "robots" roam around Gaza to inflict damage on people and homes. "The Israeli occupation army is using booby-trapped robots equipped with tons of explosives to commit massive acts of destruction and killing, including massacres, willful killing, enforced starvation and widespread forced displacement," Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in an article on its website. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) already completely closed the northern Gaza Governorate from Gaza City. Military vehicles were deployed as sand barriers and rubble of destroyed homes bar the area. One of the Palestinians trapped in an area near the Al-Qassabi neighborhood, whose name was withheld for security reasons, told the Euro-Med team that on the evening of Oct. 9, a huge explosion occurred in the neighborhood. "There was an enormous explosion sound. That was the loudest I have ever heard. We can now differentiate between different explosion sounds, so we can determine if this sound is coming from artillery, aircraft or another source," the witness said. "The sound of the explosion was louder than the sound of air strikes, to the point that white dust covered the entire area." The source further claimed that it was subsequently discovered the cause was a robot equipped with tons of explosives that flattened roughly seven houses at once. "Regardless of whether civilians are inside the houses or not, the occupation army blows up the robot," he added. The NGO further reported that the IDF brought in two additional robots in the Tawam and Zahraa neighborhoods, detonating them next to the Civil Defense area west of Jabalia camp. Another robot was detonated in the vicinity of the Abu Ali Mustafa intersection in Bir al-Naja. Another witness trapped in the Faluja area testified that more than 50 people were besieged in a house, three of whom were injured but could not be transferred to the hospital. According to reports, the IDF started using robots for the first time in Gaza in May. Photos of two explosive robots surfaced from the Tamraz Station area in the center of the Jabalia camp. Reports in Israeli media have described them as mainly used for surveillance. Israeli forces killed at least 55 Palestinians and wounded 329 during the most recent explosions, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Use of booby-trapped robots is prohibited under international law

Israel's use of booby-trapped robots is prohibited under international law, as these robots are considered indiscriminate weapons that cannot be directed or limited to military targets. They are illegal weapons under international law and using them in residential areas is a crime against humanity in and of itself. Palestinian Ambassador Majed Bamya, the deputy permanent observer to the United Nations, turned to X to air his sentiments. "What is happening in northern Gaza now is a genocide within the genocide," he tweeted. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud reported that about 400,000 Palestinians are trapped in northern Gaza, with the Israeli military not allowing anyone to leave the area despite issuing an evacuation order. "What's happening now is a continuation of the genocidal acts that began a year ago," he said. The reporter said that more than 70 bodies are still on the streets, with civil defense workers not able to retrieve them because of relentless Israeli attacks. Despite the gravity of the situation, Jabalia residents are desperately tweeting about their dire situation on social media with one declaring, "We will not leave, we die and we don't leave." "As the world is focused on Lebanon and possible Israeli strike against Iran, Israel is wiping out Jabalia," Nasser, a resident of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, said. "The occupation is blowing up roads and destroying residential districts. People can't find anything to eat. They are trapped inside their homes, fearing bombs could fall onto their heads." (Related: Israeli airstrike on school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza KILLS 15 amid worsening humanitarian crisis.) Hamas' representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan told the news outlet that Israel has "prevented the entry of food supplies to the north for 10 days," describing what is happening in Jabalia as "a crime against humanity." According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, intentionally starving civilians by "depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies is a war crime." WWIII.news has more stories similar to this. Watch the video below where the UN World Food Program discloses that no food has entered northern Gaza in October. This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

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Sources include:

MiddleEastEye.net EuroMedMonitor.org AlJazeera.com Brighteon.com
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