NEW YORK, January 14. /TASS/. Israeli military forces destroyed over 2,500 buildings in the Gaza Strip over several months following the declaration of a ceasefire with the Palestinian movement Hamas, The New York Times reported upon analyzing satellite imagery from the US company Planet Labs.
According to the publication, under the terms of the concluded agreement, Israel withdrew its troops behind a certain boundary in the Gaza Strip but retained control over approximately half of the enclave’s territory. Most buildings and infrastructure facilities, including tunnels, were destroyed in areas controlled by Israel. Additionally, Israeli forces destroyed dozens of structures beyond the demarcation line in the Hamas-controlled zone.
The newspaper noted that in one of the districts, groups of undamaged buildings were still visible in images several months ago. Now, this area "has largely been reduced to wasteland." In all districts of eastern Gaza controlled by Israel, entire neighborhoods were destroyed, along with agricultural land and greenhouses, the publication states.
"Israel is wiping entire areas off the map. The Israeli military is destroying everything in front of it — homes, schools, factories and streets. There’s no security justification for what it’s doing," Gaza-based political analyst Mohammed al-Astal told the newspaper.
On January 8, the Axios portal wrote that US President Donald Trump may announce the creation of the Gaza Board of Peace, a body to govern the Gaza Strip, as early as next week. The board is reportedly to be chaired by Trump, "include around 15 world leaders" and oversee "a still-to-be-formed Palestinian technocratic government" and supervise "the reconstruction process" in the Gaza Strip.
On October 9, Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Turkey, agreed to implement the first phase of the peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump. The next day, a ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip. Under the agreement, Israeli troops withdrew to the so-called Yellow Line, still controlling over 50% of the enclave. Axios said earlier Trump plans to announce the start of the second phase by December 25. The second phase of the deal involves the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave, the deployment of international stabilization forces, and the start of work of management bodies, including the so-called Peace Council.