Israel’s “suicide APCs” flatten Gaza City: Remote-controlled robots loaded with 7 tons of explosives wipe out neighborhoods
By isabelle // 2025-09-19
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  • Israel is deploying seven-ton explosive robots in Gaza City, flattening entire neighborhoods at an unprecedented rate.
  • Witnesses report blasts more devastating than airstrikes, with shockwaves felt 40 kilometers away and 300 homes destroyed daily.
  • Residents describe intentional psychological terror, with explosions timed at dawn to maximize panic and forced displacement.
  • Experts warn Gaza City could be completely erased within two months as part of a deliberate strategy to remove Palestinian communities.
  • International law violations persist as Israel’s allies, including the U.S., continue supplying weapons enabling the destruction.
Gaza City residents are waking to the ground shaking beneath them—not from an earthquake, but from seven-ton explosions detonated by remote-controlled robots rolling through their neighborhoods. This isn't science fiction. It's the new reality for Palestinians in Gaza City, where Israel's military has unleashed an unprecedented wave of explosive-laden robots, each capable of leveling entire blocks in seconds. Eyewitnesses describe the blasts as "more devastating than airstrikes", with shockwaves so powerful they rattle windows 40 kilometers away. Over 100 of these "suicide APCs" — repurposed armored vehicles packed with explosives — have been deployed in the past month alone, reducing 300 residential units per day to rubble. Human rights monitors warn that at this pace, Gaza City could be completely destroyed within two months, not as collateral damage but as part of a deliberate strategy to erase Palestinian communities from the map.

Far more devastating than airstrikes

The Israeli military calls them "suicide APCs", outdated M113 armored personnel carriers, stripped of their original function and retrofitted as remote-controlled demolition machines. Each one carries up to seven tons of explosives, enough to flatten 20 housing units in a single blast. According to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, these robots are being detonated in densely populated neighborhoods, including Jabalia, Zeitoun, al-Shuja’iyya, and al-Tuffah, where families have nowhere left to flee. Hussein Mansour, a 55-year-old Gaza City resident, told Middle East Eye that the explosions are "extremely terrifying for everyone, especially children." He described waking up to "massive robot bombs exploding in Gaza’s neighborhoods and streets, causing massive destruction." Jenin Raffia, a 23-year-old mother of eight, said 20 such robots were detonated near her shelter, wiping out large areas at a time. "We’ve been trying to leave Gaza City for over a week, by any means of transportation, whether by car or tractor, but there are currently no available means,” she said. The psychological terror is intentional. The Israeli military detonates most of these robots at dawn, when families are asleep, maximizing panic and forced displacement. The blasts are so powerful that debris rains down on civilians kilometers away, while the remaining structures tremble under the force. The sound is so loud that it spans the entire Gaza Strip, leaving people in a relentless state of terror.

A calculated campaign to erase Gaza City

This isn’t just warfare; it’s systematic demolition. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly framed the destruction as "the first stage in the city’s renewal." In other words: flatten first, rebuild later... without Palestinians. The Euro-Med Monitor confirmed that 15 robots per day are now being deployed, triple the previous rate, with each blast destroying dozens of homes at once. At this pace, the entire city could be gone in two months. The strategy is twofold: maximize destruction while minimizing Israeli casualties. Since Hamas militants have effectively used Gaza’s tunnel networks to ambush ground troops, Israel has turned to robotic warfare, sending in unmanned, explosive-packed APCs to clear paths before infantry advances. But the cost is borne by civilians. "The unprecedented pace of destruction indicates Israel’s determination to wipe the city off the map," Euro-Med warned. International law experts say these weapons violate the principles of distinction and proportionality—fundamental rules of war that require military actions to avoid indiscriminate harm to civilians. Instead, Israel is using them in one of the most densely populated places on Earth, where 2.4 million people, half of them women and children, have no safe escape. While Pope Leo and EU officials call for ceasefires and protesters in the U.S. demand an end to the slaughter, Israel’s allies—particularly the United States—continue to supply the weapons enabling this destruction. The UN has accused Israel of genocide, yet no meaningful action has been taken to stop the robot-driven demolition of Gaza City. The question is no longer if Gaza will be destroyed; it’s how soon, and who will be left to tell the story. For the families trapped inside, dodging "giant robot bombs" in the dead of night, the answer is already clear: This is not war. This is erasure. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com MiddleEastEye.net Independent.co.uk EuroMedMonitor.org
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