GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Israeli army's use of explosive-laden robots during its operations in northern Gaza "is prohibited under international law," the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said Sunday.

"The army is escalating its genocide against Palestinians there by committing massacres, willful killings, starvation, and widespread forced displacement,” the Geneva-based organization said in a statement.

It explained that "the Israeli army has completely separated northern Gaza from the city of Gaza by deploying vehicles and setting up sand barriers and rubble from destroyed homes, alongside fire cover from drones."

The organization noted that “it has received numerous testimonies about the Israeli army's use of explosive robots detonated remotely, causing widespread damage to surrounding homes and buildings and significant loss of life, while the work of ambulance and civil defense teams has nearly come to a complete halt, except in a narrow range of some neighborhoods.”

Israel's use of explosive robots “is prohibited under international law, as they are considered indiscriminate weapons that cannot be directed or confined to military targets only,” the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said.

According to the monitor, the Israeli army began using these robots for the first time in Gaza in May during its second incursion into the Jabalia refugee camp.

The group confirmed that the army "has expanded its operations of destruction and demolition of residential buildings in areas of its incursion in northern Gaza, employing three methods: aerial bombardment, explosive robots, and the planting of explosives in homes for demolition."

"Those who survive direct killing and bombardment remain at risk of dying from hunger or thirst, as Israeli forces are preventing any aid from entering northern Gaza, while also destroying and burning bakeries there, in addition to razing what was left of water wells."​​​​​​​

The Israeli army launched a military operation in northern Gaza on Oct. 6 amid a tight siege on the area, claiming that the offensive aims to prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,200 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 98,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala