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Israeli soldiers burn a home in Gaza City on the night of October 9. Source: social media. Faces obscured by Drop Site.
In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump's announcement on Thursday that both Hamas and Israel had signed off on an agreement to stop the fighting, the Israeli military launched an arson spree, setting fire to civilian infrastructure, including the destruction of an essential sanitation plant in Gaza City.
The destruction of Palestinian structures following the departure of soldiers who had used them as temporary bases has been a hallmark of Israel's approach to Gaza for two years. In July, Israeli reporter Yuval Abraham
collected testimonies from soldiers describing a myriad of arson methods. "Every Arab house we entered had olive oil [...] We poured the oil on the sofas, on anything flammable in the apartment, and then we ignited [it] or threw in a smoke grenade. This was a common practice," one of them described.
The agreement came after months of a concerted effort to
render Gaza uninhabitable by destroying residences and civilian infrastructure, culminating in the ground invasion of Gaza City and the leveling of several high rises in Gaza City. In September, Israeli government minister Gila Gamliel
told Channel 7 News, "We have already completely annihilated 75% of the entire [Gaza] Strip. There remains 25%, which, as you know, it too...we are now taking over [the city of] Gaza — there will be nothing left there that would really [have] the potential to be habitable."
Comment: Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!
As always, follow the money...