Israeli forces have bulldozed part of a Gaza cemetery that contains graves of dozens of British, Australian, and other allied soldiers killed in two world wars, The Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing satellite imagery and witness testimony.
Satellite images of the Gaza war cemetery located in al-Tuffah, Gaza City, revealed significant ground disturbance concentrated in the southernmost section of the burial site, the report said.
The damage in this particular zone indicated the use of heavy machinery, it added.
Entire rows of headstones have been cleared away, the soil has been heavily disrupted, and a large earthen embankment cuts through the centre of the damaged section.
No such ground alterations were visible in imagery from March of the previous year, but they are clearly present in satellite photographs dated August 8.
Bulldozing
Essam Jaradah, who previously cared for the cemetery and lives nearby, said, “Two bulldozing operations took place at the cemetery. The first bulldozing occurred outside the cemetery walls, extending approximately 12 metres around all sides of the cemetery. These areas were entirely planted with olive trees.”
“Later on, an area of slightly less than 1,000 square metres was bulldozed inside the cemetery walls, specifically in the corner of the cemetery, which contains graves of Australian soldiers.”
“I witnessed this bulldozing after the Israeli army withdrew from the area, around late April or early May,” the newspaper reported.
When presented with satellite photographs of the cemetery, the Israeli army said the actions were taken as part of "defensive operations" during active fighting.
“At the relevant time, the area in question was an active combat zone,” an Israeli army spokesperson said.
Extensive damage
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which maintains the Gaza cemetery, last addressed the condition of the graveyard on December 11.
“As a result of the conflict, the cemetery has suffered extensive damage to headstones, memorials, boundary walls, staff facilities, and storage areas,” the CWGC said.
It also confirmed damage to a memorial commemorating the British army’s 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division, along with the Indian UN memorial and the Hindu, Muslim, and Turkish burial sections.
Satellite imagery suggests the devastation is even more severe than previously acknowledged.
A burial plot just outside the main cemetery designated for Canadian UN peacekeepers has been completely erased.
Within the main grounds, two full sections containing more than 100 graves of Allied soldiers from World War II, most of them Australian, along with some British and Polish personnel, have been destroyed.
Many of those buried there had been stationed in Palestine, with some serving in Gaza field hospitals.
