A CNN investigation published on December 3, 2025, has revealed disturbing evidence that Israeli occupation forces used bulldozers to drag and bury the bodies of Palestinians near the Zikim crossing, north of Gaza. In other cases, remains were left exposed to decay in the open, with eyewitnesses reporting that stray dogs consumed parts of the corpses.
The investigation drew on newly analyzed video evidence, satellite imagery, and eyewitness testimony, supported by hundreds of photographs from the area and interviews with aid truck drivers, rescue workers, and local witnesses.
While bulldozer footage had circulated earlier in 2024, CNN’s report confirmed and contextualized these practices with fresh documentation tied specifically to Zikim.
Witnesses described indiscriminate Israeli gunfire at hungry civilians approaching aid convoys, leaving many dead or wounded.
Ambulances were reportedly blocked from reaching the site for several days. Satellite images confirmed bulldozer activity throughout the summer of 2024 in areas where Palestinians seeking flour and food were killed.
Aid drivers told CNN they saw bodies every time they crossed Zikim, and that bulldozers were used to bury them.
One rescue worker said: “The bodies we recovered were decomposed, with clear signs that dogs had eaten parts of them.”
Israeli officials claimed bulldozers were deployed for “routine operational purposes,” such as dealing with explosive threats or engineering needs.
However, legal experts cited by CNN stressed that burying bodies without identification or documentation violates the Geneva Conventions and obstructs accountability for unlawful killings.
The investigation also revealed similar practices elsewhere in Gaza. Former Israeli soldiers confirmed that in early 2024, nine civilian bodies were left to rot near Netzarim for two days, while in late 2023, officers ordered a bulldozer to push a Palestinian corpse into a roadside pit.
These revelations add to mounting evidence of systematic violations during Israel’s assault on Gaza, which since October 7, 2023, has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and injured over 170,000, the majority women and children.
Despite a ceasefire agreement announced on October 11, Israel continues to breach it daily, killing and wounding civilians while restricting the entry of food and medicine to the besieged population of 2.4 million.
