The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are creating a ‘buffer zone’ inside the Gaza Strip by demolishing buildings near the Israeli border, despite US warnings against any long-term decline. period of the enclave, reports the Financial Times.
According to reports, Tel Aviv has demolished around 1,100 of the 2,800 buildings that stood on the land it intends to use for these purposes before the war. A person familiar with the matter explained to the newspaper that the goal is to “keep that area completely clear of terrorists or infrastructure, rocket launchers, mortars” and to provide “freedom of operation” to the IDF.
The idea of a ‘buffer zone’ along the perimeter of the Palestinian territory gained interest among Israeli officials after the Palestinian movement Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, breaking through several points along the border, an operation that began the current military escalation.
Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli military intelligence, said this month that he expected his country to impose a 500-meter to one-kilometer “perimeter” inside Gaza once the fighting ends. «This will be a buffer: there will be no one there, only mines […] to ensure that October 7 never happens again,” he emphasized.
However, this issue is one of several areas of disagreement between Tel Aviv and Washington. In this regard, John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the US National Security Council, stated on Tuesday that the Administration “does not want the territory of Gaza to be reduced in any way.”
In this context, on Monday, 21 Israeli soldiers were killed when explosives that they had placed themselves in two buildings 600 meters from the border were detonated by grenades that had propelled rockets fired by Hamas militants, causing the structures to collapse. With RT
