The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, in a report, stated that the Israeli army is using explosive-laden robots in northern Gaza, bringing about widescale destruction and death tolls. A Geneva-based organisation, on Monday, said the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and military assets using these remotely detonated booby-trapped robots.

The report says that testimonies of Gazans depict how these robots destroy homes, buildings, and infrastructure in one go, badly hindering rescue efforts and increasing civilian deaths. The report criticised the Israeli military tactics and termed the robots illegal because it said the machines could not make a distinction between military and civilian objects.

The rights organisation further criticised Israel for its siege tactics, which effectively cut off the northern Gaza region from the rest of the area with barricades made from sand and debris from destroyed homes. This makes it impossible for residents to flee or seek shelter as drones provide constant air cover during operations.

In one testimony, a resident of northern Gaza, who prefers to remain anonymous for his safety, told the story of the day on October 9 when a robot loaded with explosives detonated. “The explosion was so loud, even more than the airstrikes. Six or seven houses were destroyed in one go. The Israeli army just blasted the robot without knowing if there were civilians inside,” said the witness.

The report cites the first known use of these explosive robots in Gaza in May 2024, when Israel made its second incursion into northern Gaza. Since then, the Israeli occupation army has stepped up the attacks on Gaza North in three forms: aerial bombardment, the use of explosive robots, and placing explosives inside homes to destroy them from a distance.

Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor charged Israel with enforcing starvation by preventing from reaching the residents in northern Gaza food and water aid. According to the soldiers, military targeting allegedly included bakeries, destroyed water wells and prevented humanitarian help into the besieged area, causing a terrible humanitarian crisis.

The military attack on northern Gaza, which began October 6, has already claimed dozens of lives and left hundreds injured. Successive waves of airstrikes and explosives had rained on the city, thereby destroying homes and shelters and grounding over 200,000 people under the rubble. In addition, another 200,000 people will be deprived of food, and these people will be cut off. 

Repeated calls for evacuation were made, but it is reported that thousands of people in the city are either unable or unwilling to leave their homes, standing at the risk of being killed by bombardment or starvation.

Human rights groups and international organisations have sounded the alarm on the magnitude of destruction and death in Gaza. Euro-Med termed the situation as a form of “genocide” and has submitted reports to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations in hopes that it would place blame on Israel’s actions.

The humanitarian crisis is getting worse as Israel’s military campaign is strengthening- Hundreds of thousands of them remain vulnerable to forced displacement, starvation, and death.

For more reporting like this, please follow Newsdecensored on your favorite social media sites and bookmark the website. Thank you for your interest and support.