100 Tons of Explosives Daily: Explosive Robots Emerge as a Key Weapon in Gaza’s Destruction

The Israeli Occupation Forces have continued to devise new methods of killing in their ongoing campaign of genocide in Gaza, most recently deploying what are known as explosive-laden robots.

These machines have leveled thousands of homes in recent weeks, particularly in the north of the enclave and across Gaza City, while also killing many Palestinians who refused to abandon their homes, only for the robots to bring the buildings down on top of them.

The robots are now operating intensively in northern Gaza, specifically in Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia, as well as on the eastern side of Gaza City in neighborhoods including Zeitoun, Sabra, Shujaiya, and Tuffah.

Death Machines

This lethal method entered service in May 2024, as part of what is known as the “Generals’ Plan,” carried out in the northern Gaza Strip over three months, resulting in the complete destruction of Jabalia refugee camp and Beit Lahia, along with massive devastation in Beit Hanoun.

The robots themselves are originally American-made M113 armored personnel carriers, which had been in service until the 2014 war before coming under attack by Palestinian resistance fighters.

Since then, "Israel" has withdrawn them from regular use and converted them into remote-controlled explosive vehicles, hollowing out their compartments and loading them with vast quantities of highly volatile materials.

Each robot can carry between four and seven tons of TNT or C4, producing massive blasts capable of leveling entire areas within a radius of 50 to 150 meters, flattening multiple residential blocks while partially destroying dozens of surrounding homes.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor revealed that "Israel" is demolishing “about 300 residential units daily in Gaza City and Jabalia, using around 15 robots carrying nearly 100 tons of explosives.”

Gaza’s Government Media Office, in a statement issued on September 3, 2025, said that the Israeli Occupation Forces have detonated nearly 100 explosive robots in Gaza City neighborhoods during its ongoing war over the past three weeks. 

It described these actions as evidence of a “scorched earth” policy targeting both people and infrastructure.

“The Israeli Occupation Forces continue to commit systematic and grave crimes against our Palestinian people, in flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law, by targeting defenseless civilians, including children and women, and through widespread destruction of homes and property,” the statement added.

"Israel" has also developed robots that do not detonate directly, but are used to transport large boxes of explosives to designated targets, which are then unloaded on site. 

The robots are later returned to military bases to be reused in the destruction of additional residential blocks.

Large quadcopter drones are also deployed to carry explosive payloads and drop them onto homes, before retreating to detonate them remotely, resulting in the complete destruction of the targeted house and severe damage to surrounding buildings.

Eyewitnesses speaking to Al-Estiklal also reported that the same drones have been used to drop incendiary bombs, setting inhabited homes on fire.

Widespread Devastation

Suhail Abu Jalal, a displaced resident from al-Saftawi area in northern Gaza City, recounted his harrowing experience with the explosive-laden robots to Al-Estiklal, describing how he and his family were forced to flee as the machines advanced toward their neighborhood.

He said the blasts were so violent that parts of their home collapsed nearby, forcing them to flee immediately westward in search of safety.

“The hardest moments,” he added, “were when one of the robots detonated at an intersection in al-Saftawi, in northern Gaza, producing an enormous explosion with a deafening roar and intense flames, targeting inhabited homes.”

Abu Jalal said many residents had insisted on staying in their homes rather than evacuating to the south of the enclave, no matter the circumstances, prompting the Israeli Occupation Forces to terrorize and kill them with the robots.

He revealed that the Israeli Occupation Forces directs the robots specifically toward occupied homes, exploiting technological capabilities to locate and then detonate them, adding that hundreds in his area and across northern Gaza have had their houses blown up over their heads with no chance of survival.

These residents often move their families, including women and children, to the western parts of Gaza City, while choosing to remain in their homes and move within the neighborhood rather than fully evacuate their areas, maintaining their resilience amid extremely difficult conditions.

Families Beneath the Rubble

Saeed al-Masri, a resident of the Zeitoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, was at home when the explosive robots advanced through the area, trapping him and his family for an entire night.

He told Al-Estiklal that he was inside his house when the Israeli Occupation Forces suddenly unleashed heavy gunfire and artillery shells across the neighborhood, the first step being the deployment of the explosive robots.

“The occupation initially used the robots to intimidate residents and instill fear in the hearts of those who refused to evacuate, after distributing leaflets urging people to move westward in the city,” Saeed said.

Despite the artillery and aerial bombardment, residents initially refused to leave their homes. 

But as the robots penetrated deeper into Zeitoun, panic spread, with everyone aware that these machines were capable of destroying large areas of the camp.

He described the harrowing scenes as the robots approached houses with loud noises, while the cries of children and the screams of women filled the air, fear hanging over everyone.

Saeed noted that that night, the Israeli Occupation Forces made sure the robots passed by every home, detonating four in densely inhabited areas, burying multiple families beneath the rubble. 

Most residents fled the neighborhood the following morning in a desperate bid to escape death.

He revealed that after the majority of residents had fled, explosions continued to shake Zeitoun daily, with the source clearly the robots.

The young Palestinian added that when he returned to the neighborhood a week after fleeing, he witnessed massive destruction; the robots had destroyed most of the area within five days, far more quickly than the traditional method of planting explosives in each house individually, which takes much longer.

He warned that when the Israeli Occupation Forces eventually withdraw, the world will be confronted with the number of families buried under the rubble, appealing to the Red Cross, the United Nations, and all medical institutions to enter the neighborhood and attempt to recover the bodies of the dead.

Saeed also revealed that the occupation destroyed the industrial zone and the factories in Zeitoun, which had been partially rebuilt previously and provided livelihoods for thousands of Gazans.

Reasons for Use

This military strategy, combining explosive robots with barrel bombs dropped from warplanes and drones, has led to widespread destruction of infrastructure and homes across Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, as the Israeli Occupation Forces advance from multiple directions.

Observers say the use of such weapons is aimed at maximizing destruction and forcing mass displacement, as part of a campaign of ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza that has persisted for some 23 months.

Dr. Saleh Ibrahim, an expert on Israeli affairs, explained that "Israel"’s reliance on explosive robots came after it suffered heavy losses among its engineering units, which had been responsible for planting explosives in Palestinian homes.

He told Al-Estiklal that hundreds of soldiers were killed during these operations after coming under attack by resistance fighters, whose shelling triggered the explosives they were planting, leaving them dead or wounded. This tactic sparked outrage within Israeli society over the use of building demolition in this manner.

“The heaviest blows suffered by the Israeli Occupation Forces after Operation al-Aqsa Flood occurred in an ambush at Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza in January 2024, which killed 21 Israeli soldiers who were working to booby-trap two homes,” Ibrahim added.

The attack caused shock across "Israel" and a peak in demands to halt ground operations, with families of reservists protesting strongly and calling for aerial bombardment instead of house-by-house demolition.

He noted that the robots also serve the “scorched earth” policy, with the Israeli Occupation Forces carrying out destruction before deploying troops in an attempt to avoid direct clashes with resistance fighters.

The expert explained that "Israel"’s current chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, sees this approach as a way to protect soldiers, particularly after the acknowledged failure of Operation Gideon Vehicles, which incurred heavy losses due to resistance ambushes, some at point-blank range.

Ibrahim stressed that these robots are intended to be the spearhead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to displace Gaza City residents, a strategy being carried out as the Israeli Occupation Forces advance toward the city.

He said "Israel" is relying on mass killings and demolishing homes over their occupants to instill terror, forcing Gazans to leave the city despite their determination to stay.

However, Ibrahim added that, despite Netanyahu’s reliance on these methods, their chances of full success are limited. 

He noted that the Occupation has employed a scorched-earth policy, complete destruction, and explosive robots extensively in northern Gaza as part of the “Generals’ Plan.”

“Yet, despite all these operations, more than 600,000 Gazans remain in the city and the north, demonstrating the plan’s failure to achieve its objectives in full,” he said.