Israeli Forces Use Explosive-Laden Robots in Gaza, Causing Widespread Destruction and Civilian Casualties, Reports Say

Israeli forces are employing highly destructive tactics in northern Gaza, including planting explosives in homes and deploying booby-trapped robots, according to a report from the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. This report, released on Monday, highlights that Israeli forces began using these remote-controlled robots in May during their second incursion into the Jabalia refugee camp. These robots, laden with explosives, have caused widespread destruction, obliterating homes and buildings and resulting in significant civilian casualties.

The rights group has documented numerous accounts of these robots being detonated in residential areas, further complicating the efforts of civil defense and ambulance crews. The report details how these robots, along with aerial bombardments and explosives planted inside homes, are being used by Israeli forces to demolish entire neighborhoods in northern Gaza.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor condemned these practices, stating that the use of booby-trapped robots violates international law. Due to their indiscriminate nature, these robots not only target military positions but also devastate civilian areas, leading to unnecessary loss of life and destruction of property. In addition, the blockade imposed by Israeli forces has resulted in a dire humanitarian situation. Over 400,000 people in northern Gaza are now at risk, with 200,000 trapped in the rubble of destroyed homes and another 200,000 suffering from bombings, food shortages, and the destruction of vital infrastructure.

Israeli forces have also been accused of preventing humanitarian aid from entering northern Gaza. Essential services like bakeries have been destroyed, and water wells have been razed, leaving residents without food or clean water. The Euro-Med Monitor has urgently called for international intervention to prevent the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, stressing that over 400,000 civilians are now at risk of starvation, displacement, and death as the conflict continues.

The human rights group has called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for what it terms "war crimes" and to immediately halt these destructive operations in Gaza​