‘Explosive robots’ lead Israel’s assault on Gaza city, say residents

Unmanned vehicles can cause complete destruction within 100-metre radius

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Gaza city on August 21. Reuters

The Israeli military has been detonating “explosive robots” in Gaza city in preparation for the ground assault that got under way on Thursday.

The robots – remotely controlled vehicles packed with explosives – cause “massive destruction”, Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told The National.

“Within a 100-metre radius, they cause complete destruction, and within a 300-metre radius, they cause partial destruction,” Mr Bassal said. “They have been used extensively in the Gaza Strip during all military operations, particularly in the northern Gaza area, and are now being used in Al Zeitoun neighbourhood.”

Mr Bassal said more than 50 robots had been detonated in Al Zeitoun alone, and that they were responsible for the greatest number of homes destroyed in the southern district. “From August 6 until now, the occupation has destroyed more than 500 houses in the Zeitoun neighbourhood through a combination of robot detonations and missiles,” he said.

“We can distinguish the explosion of a robot from others because of its destructive power, its extremely loud and terrifying sound, and the large amount of red flames it produces, sometimes lighting up the entire area.”

Sameh Adghesh, who lives in the Al Sabra district adjacent to Al Zeitoun with his wife and three children, said he saw the robots being used 500 metres from his home.

“For the first time in my life, I heard explosions so powerful I thought my ears would burst,” said Mr Adghesh, 32. “I became terrified for my children, because the blasts created huge air pressure that could bring down ceilings or windows on us.”

“Both my wife and I suffer from constant headaches since the robots started being used nearby. We wake up multiple times a night to the sound of explosions. It feels like my head will explode, and my whole body is broken from exhaustion and fear.”

Israel says it has taken first steps of military operation in Gaza city

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The blast from one of these robots can destroy six or seven houses at once, according to Ramy Abdu, director of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med), which documented their use in the Jabalia area north of Gaza city last October.

“The greater crime is that they are detonated without ensuring that the homes are free of residents. Families have been killed inside their houses without ever seeing the robot that was planted near them,” Mr Abdu told The National.

According to Euro-Med, the use of such devices is prohibited under international law as they are considered indiscriminate weapons which do not distinguish between civilian and military objects, and whose effects cannot be limited.

Rami Abu Zbida, a Palestinian researcher on military and security affairs, said Israel was using two types of robots in Gaza, with their first recorded use having been in May 2024, during operations in Jabalia.

“The first type consists of tracked vehicles that have been converted to operate without a crew inside. The most notable of these is the old M113 armoured personnel carrier, which is loaded with tonnes of explosives and remotely driven, then detonated remotely amid buildings before infantry forces advance,” Mr Abu Zbida told The National.

“As Israeli media has described, this is a new method being used to clear areas suspected of being booby-trapped.”

Australian M113 armoured personnel carriers during biennial multinational exercises with the US. Reports from Palestinian sources say Israel has adapted some of its APCs as robot weapons capable of carrying tonnes of explosives. Getty Images

The second type of robot is smaller, used either for removing explosive devices or carrying smaller explosive payloads, he said.

“These are deployed inside alleyways, buildings or tunnel entrances, loaded with explosive charges or barrels, or used to place directed demolition charges. Reports broadcast by Israeli media, as well as our own monitoring, show that these too are remotely operated inside densely populated areas, and their explosions can destroy a large number of homes at once.”

He noted that these weapons “also have a psychological impact”.

“By blowing up large areas at once, they cause shock and widespread structural collapse, which is intended to demoralise the population and act as a form of deterrence, as part of the military’s ‘geographic engineering’ strategy.”

Mohammed Abu Shammala, 27, a resident of Tel Al Zaatar neighbourhood next to Jabalia, said the detonations of these robots left the population in constant dread during the assault in October. “We would hear the sounds of exploding robots every single day,” Mr Abu Shammala told The National.

“The explosions were massive, beyond what a human mind could endure. They deprived us of sleep, filled our hearts with fear, and when we returned home after the [January 19] truce, we found nothing left – literally, not a stone upon another.”