Israeli Soldiers Detail Widespread Destruction in Gaza Buffer Zone Operations: Report

The report compiles accounts from unnamed soldiers and commanders involved in the enforcement of the buffer zone plan.

Their testimonies describe deliberate and extensive devastation during operations inside the Gaza Strip.

“One of these missions was to create a ‘buffer zone’ inside the Gaza Strip, which in practice meant razing the area to the ground,” the group said.

“Through widespread, deliberate destruction, the military laid the groundwork for future Israeli control of the area.”

The buffer zone—referred to by soldiers as “the perimeter”—reportedly spans from Gaza’s northern coast to its southern border with Egypt. It lies entirely within Gaza.

Breaking the Silence said the previous buffer zone extended about 300 meters (984 feet) into Gaza. The newly expanded zone stretches between 800 meters and 1,500 meters (2,624-4,921 feet), affecting an area of roughly 55 to 58 square kilometers (21 to 22 square miles).

This accounts for about 16% of Gaza’s total land area and approximately 35% of its agricultural zones.

A major in the army’s Northern Gaza Division described the scope of operations: “What they said in the operations room in November (2023) was that the war was expected to last a year, that we were going to conquer an area that would be cleared of everything.”

A non-commissioned officer from the Armored Corps, referring to January and February 2024, said soldiers were told there were no civilians in the area.

“There is no civilian population. They're terrorists, all of them. … There are no innocents,” he said.
“We go in and if we identify suspects, we shoot them.”

He described the scale of destruction: “The ‘bear,’ the D9 (armored bulldozer), drives and mows down everything in its path. … Essentially, everything gets mowed down, everything.”

When asked what that included, he replied: “Everything is everything. Everything that’s built, … orchards, cow sheds, chicken coops.” He compared the aftermath to “Hiroshima.”

A first sergeant in Reserve Battalion 5 said their mission in Khuza’ah, Khan Younis, between December 2023 and January 2024 focused on demolition.

“I’m talking up to hundreds of structure units, … the destruction is total,” he said.

He added that the Gaza Division used color-coded maps to mark destruction levels: “Green means more than 80% of buildings were taken down—residential buildings, greenhouses, sheds, factories, … it needs to be flat.”

A first sergeant in the Combat Engineering Corps, who served in northern Gaza in November 2023, said: “We take down houses, … knock it down, so there’s absolutely nothing left, a pile of rubble.”

He described demolition assignments as routine: “You get up in the morning, get the locations, … every day, except if we run out of explosives.”

He said units could demolish 40 to 50 houses per week: “It was a matter of half an hour per house.”

A reserve artillery officer said commanders had wide latitude in targeting: “There is no system of accountability in general. Anyone who crosses a certain line, that we have defined, is considered a threat and is sentenced to death.”

The Israeli military resumed its offensive on Gaza on March 18, breaking a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal reached in January. Nearly 1,400 people have been killed and over 3,400 injured in the enclave since the assault resumed.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to intensify the attacks as part of a broader strategy aligned with US President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza.

Since October 2023, more than 50,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the majority of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel is also facing genocide allegations before the International Court of Justice.