Israeli soldiers were congratulated for destroying buildings in the Gaza Strip. “That's what we did and that's what we'll do”
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip Photo: Moiz Salhi/APAImages / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The Minister of Defense of Israel, Israel Katz, congratulated the armed forces on Friday for their activity in the Gaza Strip in response to accusations in the international press that warn that Israel continues to destroy buildings in the Gaza Strip, reports EFE, taken over by Agerpres.
“It is stated that Shujaiya (a neighborhood in eastern Gaza City) has been destroyed and entire complexes of buildings have been demolished since the ceasefire, in addition to greenhouses and agricultural areas. I congratulate the FDI (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers for their activities,” the minister wrote on the X social network.
Katz's message responds to an article published by The New York Times on January 12. The article shows, with the help of satellite images, how the Israeli armed forces destroyed over 2,500 structures in the Gaza Strip, despite the ceasefire agreement in force. Some of these are outside the area that the armistice agreement places under Israeli military control.
Without denying the accusations, Katz refers to the order he gave together with the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to destroy “up to the last tunnel” of the Islamist group Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.
“This is exactly what we meant: the demolition and destruction of the murderous underground terrorist infrastructure that Hamas has built under the homes of Gazans and all structures above to eliminate threats to the people of the Negev and the State of Israel,” the Israeli defense minister continued. “That's what we did and that's what we'll do,” Israel Katz concluded his message.
Since the entry into force of the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has carried out daily demolitions of buildings in the perimeter that remains under its control and comprises more than 50% of the enclave.
This perimeter is delimited by the yellow line, an imaginary demarcation to which the Israeli troops withdrew at the beginning of the armistice.
Of the 463 people who died in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli attacks after the start of the truce, according to the data of the health authorities in the Palestinian enclave, most lost their lives trying to approach this yellow line.
