In a chilling revelation, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper has exposed a system in which private contractors are financially rewarded for every home they demolish in the devastated Gaza Strip, earning 5,000 shekels, or roughly $1,500, per house reduced to rubble.

The report quotes an Israeli soldier confirming that “every contractor using engineering equipment receives 5,000 shekels per demolished house.” These demolitions, far from being incidental, are now a lucrative industry, incentivising destruction under the banner of military operations.

The same soldier admitted that these contractors, along with their minimal security escorts, often push closer to aid delivery routes, areas where desperate Palestinians gather in search of food. The consequences are deadly. To secure their advance, these crews reportedly open fire on starving civilians, treating the killing of Palestinians as a tolerable cost for reaching the next target and pocketing another payment.

Haaretz notes that while military guidelines called for maintaining a safe distance from population centres and food distribution points, the reality on the ground starkly contradicts official directives. The lure of profit appears to be overriding all operational logic and basic humanity.

Since the beginning of the war in October 2023, Gaza has endured mass death, starvation, and displacement under a campaign increasingly described as genocidal. The revelation that demolition is being commodified adds another disturbing layer to a war where Palestinian lives, homes, and dignity are being bought and sold in the marketplace of occupation.