The soldiers, including reserve troops, stated that they were ordered to clear a one-kilometer wide area along the border as part of an Israeli plan to build a security buffer zone within Gaza, which Palestinians will be prohibited from entering.

The Wall Street Journal indicated that soldiers are using bulldozers and other heavy equipment to flatten agricultural lands, level greenhouses, demolish structures and buildings, and seal tunnel passageways left by Hamas fighters.

A soldier told the newspaper, "Everything has been leveled to the ground. It was mostly farmlands, and now it's become a military area, an area completely off-limits."

The newspaper reported that Israeli officials regard the buffer zone as a necessary security measure in their plan to demilitarize Gaza and reassure Israelis that they can safely return to towns and communities near the border that were evacuated after a surprise attack by Hamas fighters on October 7, which resulted in 1,200 deaths.

The establishment of this zone will provide a clear field of vision, enabling Israeli forces to monitor anyone approaching the border and to fire upon them, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Previously, American officials had warned that converting an area along the Gaza Strip border with Israel into a prohibited zone would increase Palestinian fears that Israel intends to occupy the sector or even a part of it. This action would make it more difficult to convince Arab governments to assist in rebuilding the sector after the cessation of war.