IDF drones drop explosives on Gaza City's Zeitoun buildings before demolition

Israeli army drones have been placing explosives on buildings in Zeitoun, a neighbourhood of Gaza City, so that the structures can later be blown up, according to several Israeli news channels on Telegram. Abu Ali Express reported that the drones of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were setting down the explosive material on structures in the eastern part of the city in preparation for detonating them.

News.co.il said it had footage filmed from the air over Gaza showing IDF drones dropping charges onto the buildings, which it described as structures used for terror activity. Ynet's alerts channel, citing a report from Gaza, said explosive devices had been dropped onto rooftops and that residents were leaving the neighbourhood.

Where Zeitoun is

Zeitoun is a residential district of Gaza City, the largest urban area in the Gaza Strip. The reports place it slightly differently: Abu Ali Express locates it in the east of Gaza City, while News.co.il refers to it as being in the northern part of the Strip. The two descriptions are not necessarily in conflict, since Gaza City lies in the northern half of the territory, but the outlets did not give a more precise location for the buildings involved.

What the reports describe

All three outlets describe the same basic method: drones operated by the IDF, Israel's military, delivering explosives onto buildings, with the stated aim of later detonating them. The wording differs in emphasis. Abu Ali Express placed the word for "placing" in quotation marks, and News.co.il did the same with the word "charges", suggesting the outlets were relaying how the activity was being described rather than offering a technical account of the munitions.

Only News.co.il characterised the targeted buildings as being used for terror activity. Neither Abu Ali Express nor the Ynet alert made that claim, and none of the reports cited an IDF statement supporting it.

The Ynet item differs in its source. Rather than describing footage, it attributed its information to a Gazan report, meaning an account originating from inside the Strip, and it is the only one of the three to mention civilians leaving the area.

The outlets reporting

Ynet is the online news service of Yedioth Ahronoth, one of Israel's largest newspaper groups, and runs a Telegram channel for breaking alerts. Abu Ali Express is a Telegram channel that follows Arab and Palestinian affairs and often relays material circulating in Arabic-language media. News.co.il is an Israeli news site that also publishes short updates on Telegram. All of the reports were brief alerts rather than full articles, and each outlet posted its item more than once.

What the reports do not say

No statement from the IDF spokesperson about the operation in Zeitoun appears in any of the reports, so the army has not, on this material, confirmed the activity, explained its purpose or identified the buildings. The claim that the structures were used for terror activity comes from a single outlet, News.co.il, and is not accompanied by evidence. The reports do not say how many buildings were involved, whether any had yet been detonated, how many residents left or where they went, or whether anyone was hurt. The Gazan source cited by Ynet is not named.