Almost 40 percent of buildings within planned Gaza buffer zone demolished: Report

Israel has razed nearly 40 percent of the 2,824 buildings in Gaza located within a kilometre of the border, according to a Hebrew University study cited by The Wall Street Journal.

According to the report much of the land that has now been turned into a military zone, was agricultural land.

This marks another deliberate attempt by Israel to fulfil its stated aim of making the Strip uninhabitable by preventing Palestinians from growing their own food. 

The demolition moves appear to be part of a plan to build a kilometer-wide buffer zone inside the Strip.

The Israeli military appears to have demolished 1,072 out of 2,824 structures located one kilometre or less from the border. Most of the buildings were residential, according to the Hebrew University study.

"Shaul Arieli, a former Israeli colonel who served in Israel’s Gaza division told the WSJ that "the creation of a permanent buffer zone inside Gaza likely would be illegal under international law because Israel would be assuming control of land beyond its recognised territory and, as an occupying power, would be prohibited from altering boundaries."