Explosive robots: Tools for the Zionist regime’s new crimes in Gaza

Pars Today – During more than 23 months of the Zionist regime’s war against Gaza, the Israeli army has used various prohibited and destructive weapons. The latest tool in these attacks is “explosive robots”: old armored vehicles filled with around five tons of explosives and remotely guided into residential areas.

The Palestinian Information Center reported that the explosive robots detonate at their target either automatically or via drones, destroying an area of nearly 300 square meters. According to Pars Today, in the early months of the war, the Israeli army relied primarily on F-16 fighter jets and guided bombs. However, as its stock of smart weapons decreased, it turned to explosive robots—an inexpensive tool with greater destructive power.

Wasif Arikat, a military expert, said: “This method is part of a ‘scorched earth’ policy aimed at creating fear and terror and forcibly evacuating residential areas. In the Zaytoun neighborhood in southern Gaza alone, more than 1,500 homes were destroyed using this method in August 2025.”

Types of deadly robots and explosive drones

Arikat identifies two types of these robots: large tracked robots that function as mobile bombs, and smaller robots designed to infiltrate alleys and tunnels. There are also reports of the Israeli army using quadcopter drones to drop explosive devices on homes, further expanding the radius of destruction.

International legal experts consider these robots to constitute illegal weapons, as they make no distinction between civilians and combatants and have severe psychological and physical effects on the population. The use of these tools is part of a forced displacement project that keeps people in constant fear, compelling them to leave their homes, with no safe shelter available in the Gaza Strip.

Military objectives and humanitarian consequences

Rami Abu Zubaida, a military researcher, identifies three main objectives of the Israeli regime in using these robots: reducing casualties among its own soldiers, destroying tunnels and defensive installations, and creating psychological shock through the widespread destruction of neighborhoods.

These robots were first used in May 2024 in Jabalia, and their use later expanded to northern and southern Gaza, even near hospitals and medical centers. The variety of killing tools—from explosive robots to bomb-carrying drones—indicates that the Israeli regime is committing crimes that should be considered genocide and the destruction of a civilization.