Israeli soldiers 'launched arson spree' in immediate aftermath of ceasefire

Israeli soldiers torched civilian infrastructure in Gaza in the immediate aftermath of Hamas and Israel signing the ceasefire agreement on Thursday, Drop Site News is reporting.

According to the report, Israeli troops set fire to food supplies, homes and a critical sewage plant in Gaza City on the night of 9 October and early morning 10 October, before Israel's cabinet had approved the agreement.

According to Drop Site, the scale of the arson was more extensive than any previous spree conducted by Israeli soldiers it had documented since October 2023. The report identified a number of the perpetrators as originating from several different brigades, including the Golani, Givati, Nahal Brigades, and the newly formed ultra-orthodox Hashmonaim Brigade.

Soldiers posted footage and videos of buildings engulfed in flames.

One soldier took a selfie in front of a pile of burning pallets containing food.

 “On Friday, just before departure. Burning food so that it won’t reach the Gazans, may their names be erased,” the caption reads. 

Before withdrawing, soldiers torched the Sheikh Ajlin Sewage Treatment Station, which is critical for Gaza City's sanitation network. In social media posts, soldiers posed in front of the burning plant; one caption read "[One] last memory".

Monther Shoblaq, Director General of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) in Gaza said the attack could push the city's wastewater system "to point zero".

He warned that the destruction of the plant could delay reconstruction efforts by years.

“I mean, they signed a ceasefire,” Shoblaq said. “Why set it on fire?”