A sweeping Reuters investigation-built on 18 months of field reporting, satellite analysis, expert review-and interviews with Israeli and Palestinian sources, reveals that in the final months before the October 10, 2025 ceasefire, the Israeli military systematically deployed aging M113 armored personnel carriers packed with one to three tons of explosives and detonated them inside Gaza City’s residential districts.
According to Reuters, these vehicles were not merely adapted for combat, they were turned into improvised weapons of mass demolition, driven into civilian neighborhoods and remotely detonated with force comparable to a U.S.-supplied 2,000‑pound bomb. Palestinians who lived through the blasts described them as “earthquakes,” “building‑eaters,” and “the sound of a city being erased.”
Gaza’s civil defense reported that in the final days before the ceasefire, Israel used up to 20 of these massive ground bombs per day, unleashing shockwaves that pulverized entire blocks and sprayed shrapnel hundreds of meters in every direction.
On‑the‑Ground Evidence: A City Torn Apart
Reuters Gaza correspondent Nidal Al‑Mughrabi first heard reports in August of explosions so violent they defied explanation. When TV crews reached the sites, they found neighborhoods like Tel al‑Hawa and Sabra reduced to tangled metal and crushed concrete. Among the rubble lay unmistakable evidence: twisted armored plates, blown‑apart tracks, and the shattered remains of M113 APCs.
More than a dozen eyewitnesses described seeing Israeli vehicles roll into residential streets and explode moments later, obliterating homes and damaging entire rows of buildings. Residents told Reuters the blasts were so powerful they felt like “the ground was splitting open.”
Satellite and Video Analysis: A Timeline of Erasure
High‑resolution satellite imagery comparing September 1 and October 11, 2025 showed over 650 buildings completely destroyed in just six weeks. While some destruction came from airstrikes and bulldozers, analysts said the pattern aligned with repeated use of multi‑ton ground bombs.
Explosives experts who reviewed footage of APC wreckage confirmed that the vehicles had detonated from within, consistent with deliberate internal explosions in residential areas.
Expert Assessments: A Tactic Built for Maximum Damage
Three explosives specialists consulted by Reuters said a three‑ton charge is equivalent to a “very large bomb capable of leveling buildings.” They noted that turning armored vehicles into giant bombs is almost unheard of in modern warfare because of its inherently indiscriminate, wide‑area impact.
Reuters illustrations showed blast radii large enough to collapse nearby structures even if the intended target was a single building.
Interviews with Israeli security sources and a military historian framed the tactic as “efficient” for neutralizing threats while protecting Israeli troops. Palestinians interviewed by Reuters described it instead as collective punishment, a method of warfare designed to flatten neighborhoods rather than fight inside them.
Legal and Humanitarian Concerns: ‘Wanton Destruction’
Two rules‑of‑war experts told Reuters that detonating multi‑ton explosives in densely populated districts raises serious concerns about proportionality and distinction—core principles of international humanitarian law.
The UN Human Rights Office described the destruction as “wanton,” suggesting it appeared aimed at making parts of Gaza uninhabitable.
While civilian buildings can lose protection if used for military purposes, Reuters reported that Israel provided no evidence that the specific buildings destroyed by APC bombs were being used by Hamas.
Responses From the Parties
Israel’s military insisted it respects the laws of war and selects weapons to minimize civilian harm. It rejected accusations of indiscriminate destruction.
Hamas denied rigging homes with explosives and accused Israel of using the tactic to forcibly depopulate neighborhoods. Israel denied this intent.
A Portrait of Systematic Urban Devastation
Human‑rights groups and numerous analysts told Reuters that the tactic reflected a military strategy that treated Palestinian neighborhoods as disposable. They argued that the scale and method of destruction suggested not accidental damage but a willingness to level entire districts rather than engage in precise combat.
Some analysts described the approach as “scorched‑earth warfare in all but name,” pointing to the industrial, repetitive use of multi‑ton ground bombs as evidence of a profound disregard for Palestinian life.
