Israeli Soldiers Reveal “Kill Zone” Tactics in Gaza: Mass Destruction And Forced Evacuations

An Israeli human rights organization released a report today, Monday, in which Israeli soldiers detailed the harsh methods used by Israeli forces to create what they described as a “kill zone” around the Gaza Strip—by destroying farmland and evacuating entire residential neighborhoods in the territory.

The report, issued by the Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence, is based on testimonies from soldiers who served in Gaza and took part in the buffer zone operation. By December 2024, this zone had been expanded to a depth of 800 to 1,500 meters inside Gaza, and Israeli forces have continued to expand it since then.

Israel says the buffer zone around Gaza is necessary to prevent a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack, which was led by fighters from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), who infiltrated through what was previously a 300-meter-deep buffer zone to attack multiple Israeli towns bordering Gaza. Israel describes that attack as one of the worst security disasters in its history, claiming it resulted in 1,200 deaths and the capture of 251 hostages.

Inside the Kill Zone: Israeli Soldiers Detail Destruction in Gaza Buffer Strip

One commander in the armored corps was quoted in the report saying: “The border line is a kill zone… It’s a lower area… a low-lying land… We have full visibility over it—and so do they. ”The Israeli military has yet to respond to a request for comment on the report.

The testimonies came from soldiers who served in Gaza from late 2023, after Israeli troops entered the Strip, through early 2024. The accounts do not cover the most recent expansion of army-controlled territory.

Soldiers said that in the early stages of expanding the zone, Israeli forces used bulldozers and heavy excavators, along with thousands of mines and explosives, to destroy around 3,500 buildings, as well as farmland and industrial zones that could have been vital for post-war reconstruction.

A separate report from the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din stated that about 35% of Gaza’s agricultural land had been destroyed—mostly on the outskirts of the Strip.

A reservist in the armored corps said: “In reality, we were destroying everything—green and dry… every building, every facility.” Another soldier described the area as looking “like Hiroshima.”

Breaking the Silence, founded by a group of former Israeli soldiers to raise awareness of military experiences in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said it interviewed soldiers involved in the border-line operation and published their statements anonymously.

One combat engineering soldier described the shock he felt upon seeing the destruction caused by the initial bombardment of northern Gaza before his unit had even begun its clearing operations.

“It was beyond belief—even before we demolished the houses once we entered. It felt surreal, like being in a movie,” he said. “What I saw there, to me, went beyond anything I could justify if I ever had to. It’s about how proportional it is to reality.”

“Just a pile of rubble”

Soldiers spoke of bulldozing agricultural land, including olive trees and eggplant fields, in addition to destroying industrial areas and facilities—among them a Coca-Cola plant and a pharmaceutical company.

One soldier recounted seeing “a massive industrial zone and large factories turned into nothing but piles of rubble and shattered concrete.”So far, the Israeli war has led to the deaths of over 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

The bombardment has devastated large areas of the Strip, displacing hundreds of thousands of people—many now living in tents or damaged buildings.

The report stated that the military considered many of the destroyed buildings to have been used by Hamas. A soldier said that some contained belongings of hostages. However, many other destroyed facilities had no connection to that.

An armored corps commander said: “Company commanders make different decisions on this issue, so in the end, it depends on their personalities. But overall, there’s no system of accountability.”

Palestinians were not allowed to enter the area, and the army would open fire if they tried. But according to soldiers quoted in the report, rules of engagement were vague and largely left to field commanders’ discretion.

Another soldier said that adult males spotted in the buffer zone were killed, but warning shots were fired if they were women or children. “In most cases… it was adults who entered the buffer zone. Children or women didn’t go into that area,” the soldier said.