Israeli Troops Flattened Gaza Border Areas to Create 'Kill Zone': Report

Buffer Zone Encircling Enclave Extended to Prevent Repeat of 2023 Attack by Hamas

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JERUSALEM - Israeli troops flattened farmland and cleared entire residential districts in Gaza to open a "kill zone" around the enclave, according to a report on April 7 that quoted soldiers testifying about the harsh methods used in the operation.

The report, from the Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence, cited soldiers who served in Gaza during the creation of the buffer zone, which was extended to between 800m and 1,500m inside the enclave by December 2024 and has since been expanded further by Israeli troops.

Israel says the buffer zone encircling Gaza is needed to prevent a repeat of the Oct 7, 2023, attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters and gunmen who poured across the previous 300m-deep buffer zone to assault a string of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. The attack, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, was one of the worst security disasters in Israel's history.

"The borderline is a kill zone, a lower area, a lowland," the report quoted a captain in the Armoured Corps as saying. "We have a commanding view of it, and they do too."

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.