Why the IDF must flatten buildings in Gaza - legally, tactically and morally ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Why the IDF must flatten buildings in Gaza - legally, tactically and morally

The BESA Center report from July gives an excellent summary that describes why the IDF is not only legally allowed but tactically and morally obligated to destroy so many buildings in Gaza cities:

The fighting amounts to a deadly game of hide-and-seek. In order to clear the areas and reduce the ability of the terrorists to hide, IDF tactics now include much more vigorous destruction of buildings than previously.

The terrorists, Hamas and others, are using the buildings as fighting posts. They shoot from a building, move to another, shoot from that one, then move again, while placing remote-controlled bombs and booby-traps inside any building they believe the IDF will enter. ...Many buildings contain weapons caches, allowing individuals to move between them unarmed, enter a building, pick up weapons, use them, then return them before moving on to another location. Many buildings also feature tunnel shafts built into their lowest floors, which allow the terrorists to move between them without exposing themselves on street level and to replenish stocks of weapons, ammunition and explosives in these caches. Even when a building has been entered and cleared by the IDF, terrorists often return after the Israelis have exited to plant bombs or hide inside and shoot out at them. A significant proportion of IDF casualties occur during building clearing operations.

Buildings damaged by the fighting are also hazardous. In at least two instances, damaged but seemingly stable buildings have collapsed on IDF units resting inside them, leading to the death and injury of soldiers. The collapses occurred long after the buildings had been damaged due to the gradual failure of the foundations.

Destruction of tunnels often also damages the buildings above or adjacent to them, especially the foundations, making them unstable even if they seem undamaged above ground. Given the extent of the tunnels in Gaza, huge hazardous zones have been created above them. The underground system consists of 500-700 kilometers of tunnels that crisscross the ground underneath residential areas. For comparison, the London Underground is about 400 kilometers of tunnels and the underground portions of the New York City subway are about 700 kilometers. The urban areas of Gaza, under which Hamas deliberately concentrated its tunnel system, cover less than half the Strip’s territory and are approximately a tenth the size of urban London and an eighth the size of New York City.

Because so many of the buildings are unstable, the safest tactical choice for the IDF is to completely demolish most of them as it advances through the urban areas. It is also safer for returning civilians that these structures be entirely demolished, as damaged buildings pose a serious risk of collapse (particularly when the winter rains begin). Because this takes a lot of time and effort and is not always feasible under fire, offensive operations are very slow.

As to legality, all IDF activity is vetted by the IDF’s legal advisors. There is nothing inherently unlawful here. It is legal to target any civilian site used for combat operations; there is no obligation to check every room of a building for signs of military use, especially once civilians have been evacuated.

As with everything else in this war, things that the IDF is blamed for as being immoral are a necessary moral, lifesaving response to Hamas' actions that endanger lives and use Gaza civilians as their main line of defense.

(h/t Irene)