How Israel Turned Gaza Into an “Annihilation Zone”

The article details how Israel transformed the Gaza Strip into an "annihilation zone," beginning with its demarcation in August 1950. Israeli and Egyptian troops, along with UN observers, used a Caterpillar D6 tractor to plough a ditch, creating a border that separated Palestinian communities and farms. Israeli soldiers, like Mordechai Galili, described contentious negotiations over every detail, while Palestinian farmers protested the loss of their land, with some being taunted by Israeli soldiers. The plough line led to the creation of the Gaza Strip, a concentration area for 200,000 refugees, and the Gaza Envelope, a frontier zone designed to enclose them. Kibbutzim like Nirim were built on the ruins of Palestinian villages, such as al-Ma‘in, and settlers systematically erased traces of Palestinian life through cultivation. This "double erasure" aimed to prevent refugees from returning. More recently, in late 2023, Israeli forces used D9 bulldozers and bombs to further flatten Gaza's topography, destroying farms, homes, and infrastructure. As one soldier stated, "Our job is to flatten Gaza."