CNN Exposes Bulldozed Palestinian Bodies, Unmarked Graves in Gaza

Drawing on hundreds of videos and photos from around "Zikim", as well as interviews with eyewitnesses, local aid drivers, and two former "Israeli" soldiers, CNN found that civilians seeking aid were also killed by what witnesses described as indiscriminate "Israeli" fire.

Two ex-military personnel told CNN that similar practices occurred elsewhere in Gaza during "Israel's" genocidal war, pointing to what rights groups say is a broader pattern of mishandling Palestinian bodies.

One whistleblower, who served in early 2024 at an outpost along the "Netzarim" Corridor, described seeing “nine bodies of unarmed Palestinians” left decomposing for nearly two days around his base.

“The smell of the rotting corpses became overwhelming as dogs scavenged the remains,” he said. He recalled a commander ordering D9 bulldozers “to cover up the bodies with sand.”

“Just to see this amount of bodies around you, when you see they’re unarmed, when you see dogs eating them, playing with bones and legs and skull—it’s terrible,” he told CNN, adding that no photos were taken to help identify the dead. “The families may not know what happened with their loved ones.”

Breaking the Silence [BTS], an “Israeli” veteran’ group that documents soldiers’ testimonies, confirmed receiving numerous accounts describing the same practice.

Another former soldier, a captain who oversaw operations from a command centre in late 2023, said he received no instructions on handling the bodies of Palestinians killed by "Israeli" fire.

“When the body of a Palestinian killed by 'Israeli' forces blocked a road in Gaza, officers in the command centre ultimately decided to use a bulldozer to push the body into a shallow grave along the side of the road,” he told CNN.

“We were never given any protocol or any order of how to handle at all any bodies of either combatant or non-combatant that we came across in the war,” he added.

The IOF did not respond to CNN’s questions about the testimonies.

CNN noted that bulldozers have also been used during the war to level Palestinian cemeteries.

A previous CNN probe found that at least 16 burial grounds in Gaza were desecrated during "Israel’s" ground offensive, with gravestones smashed, earth overturned, and in some cases bodies exposed.

This latest investigation relied on testimonies, as well as satellite imagery showing bulldozing activity across the summer in the areas where Palestinians seeking flour and basic supplies were killed. Two geolocated videos from June show bodies partially buried beside an overturned aid truck.

Graphic footage from 11 September—a month before the October ceasefire went into effect—shows Palestinians fleeing the "Zikim" area carrying sacks of flour under continuous gunfire.

According to CNN, which had identified in satellite imagery, at least one person carrying flour appears to be shot from behind in the footage, with the gunfire seeming to come from the direction of an IOF position.

Robert Maher, an audio forensic specialist at Montana State University, analysed the audio for CNN and concluded that the shots came from roughly 340 metres away, the distance of the identified "Israeli" position.

Another video filmed at the same site shows civilians tending to the bodies of one dead and one severely wounded person under ongoing fire.

Other photos and videos reviewed by CNN show multiple bodies that could not be retrieved by civil defence crews because of the danger.

Two eyewitnesses recounted a deadly 15 June incident, when “shortly after an aid truck was surrounded [by aid seekers], the IOF opened fire toward the vehicle, with many people appearing to have been shot and collapsing beneath the truck.” A civil defence ambulance was only allowed into the area several days later.

“We were shocked by the scene,” a civil defence worker told CNN. “The bodies we recovered were decomposed… there were signs dogs had eaten parts of them.”

Geolocated videos from the site show the overturned aid truck surrounded by debris, and several decomposing bodies partially buried in sand. A stray dog walks nearby.

Six aid truck drivers working the "Zikim" route told CNN—on condition of anonymity—that corpses along the road were a common sight throughout the summer. Some said they saw “Israeli” bulldozers burying the dead.

“I see dead people every time I drive through 'Zikim',” one driver said. “I watched 'Israeli' bulldozers bury the bodies. If you passed in July, you wouldn’t miss it—I kept my windows closed.”

“'Israeli' army bulldozers either bury them or cover them with dirt,” another driver said.

Satellite imagery taken between mid-June and September shows a continued presence of 'Israeli' bulldozers in and around the crossing. Signs of bulldozer activity are visible from just after the aid route opened until 12 September, when it was shut.

Two eyewitnesses said that on 7 September, while searching near "Zikim" for missing relatives, they found what appeared to be bulldozed corpses. “I found the bodies there, bulldozed along with the cardboard aid boxes… piled on top of each other,” said Adel Mansour, who was searching for his 17-year-old son.

One aid driver described the zone as “the Bermuda Triangle,” adding: “No one knows what’s happening there, and it seems no one ever will.”

With many Palestinians who sought food over the summer still missing, families continue to search for answers. Some hold out hope that their relatives may be alive in "Israeli" detention or displaced elsewhere in Gaza, as uncertainty deepens around those who never returned.