Israeli soldiers reveal using bulldozers to run over bodies, dead or alive, in Gaza, CNN report shows

A recent CNN report has revealed disturbing accounts from Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza, disclosing how bulldozers were used to clear paths by running over bodies, whether dead or alive. These testimonies offer insight into the immense psychological toll that the conflict has taken on Israeli soldiers. However, the framing of the article, focusing on the trauma endured by Israeli combatants, has drawn significant criticism for its perceived neglect of Palestinian suffering. One soldier, Eliran Mizrahi, a 40-year-old reservist deployed to Gaza after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, returned home deeply traumatised. His family told CNN that Mizrahi, a father of four, took his own life six months after being deployed. He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but struggled with the mental burden of what he witnessed and participated in during the war. Mizrahi’s mother, Jenny, said that despite leaving Gaza, her son could not escape the psychological damage it caused. “He got out of Gaza, but Gaza did not get out of him,” she said, blaming his death on post-trauma from the war. Mizrahi’s account, along with those of other soldiers, has highlighted the mental health crisis now affecting thousands of Israeli soldiers who served in the conflict. A key part of Mizrahi’s experience involved operating a D-9 bulldozer, a massive armoured vehicle used for demolishing buildings and clearing paths. His friend and fellow operator, Guy Zaken, provided a grim account of their work in Gaza, saying they often had to drive over bodies, dead or alive, while clearing rubble. “We saw very difficult things,” Zaken said. “Things that are hard to accept.” Zaken spoke openly about the long-lasting psychological trauma he and his comrades now endure. In testimony to the Israeli parliament, he recounted that many soldiers had to run over people “in the hundreds” while in Gaza. The brutality of these actions left deep mental scars, with Zaken sharing that he can no longer eat meat, as it reminds him of the crushed bodies, which he referred to as “meat.” The article highlighted the growing mental health crisis among Israeli soldiers, citing Mizrahi’s case as an example of the wider issue. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged that thousands of soldiers are suffering from PTSD or mental illnesses, but official figures on suicides have not been provided. Soldiers and medics have voiced concerns about the lack of adequate mental health care, with many struggling to adjust to civilian life after the horrors of urban warfare in Gaza. CNN's report on the IDF practices echoes findings from a March 2024 Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor report, which documented multiple instances where the Israeli army ran over Palestinians with military vehicles. One such incident, on 29 February 2024, involved a Palestinian man in Gaza City’s Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood who was arrested, bound, and deliberately run over by a military bulldozer while still alive, according to eyewitnesses. The Euro-Med report detailed several similar cases, including an attack on the Ghannam family in Khan Younis, where an Israeli tank ran over a caravan, killing a father and his daughter as they slept. Another incident involved displaced people in Beit Lahia being crushed by Israeli tanks and bulldozers in December 2023. These actions, which Euro-Med denounced as part of Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians, were classified as war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

CNN's framing of story widely criticised

Despite the human toll on Israeli soldiers, the CNN report has sparked widespread criticism for its framing of the issue. The article, which focused heavily on the psychological trauma of Israeli soldiers, was criticised for painting the soldiers as victims while largely ignoring the immense suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. As the conflict has killed more than 42,000 people in Gaza, according to the local health ministry, critics argue that the report failed to adequately consider the Palestinian casualties and the destruction caused by the war. Qasim Rashid, a human rights lawyer, raised concerns over the article’s portrayal of Israeli soldiers and its identification of casualties as “terrorists” without proper verification. “The framing of the piece makes it appear as though the soldiers’ trauma is the real tragedy, overlooking the fact that Palestinians, including civilians, are being killed in massive numbers,” he said. Historian Ali A. Olomi also criticised the piece for focusing on the soldiers’ personal struggles while neglecting the larger context of Palestinian suffering. “The article humanises soldiers who are part of a brutal military operation without addressing the immense destruction and death they are causing in Gaza,” he remarked. Other commentators, like journalist Jonathan Cook, argued that the piece downplayed the war’s impact on Gaza’s civilian population. “It tells you everything that CNN thinks the big story in the middle of a genocide is that some Israeli soldiers carrying out that genocide are being put off meat-eating,” Cook said. Heidi N. Moore, a former columnist for The Guardian, called the article "a complete debacle," criticising CNN’s approach in highlighting the soldiers' trauma without providing equal weight to the suffering of Palestinians. Palestinian-American journalist Mariam Barghouti expressed outrage at how Israeli soldiers openly shared details of their actions in Gaza, saying, “Israeli soldiers are blatantly sharing their crimes not just on TikTok, but now on CNN too.” The article has reignited debate about how Western media covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with critics accusing outlets of bias by disproportionately focusing on Israeli experiences while glossing over the devastation in Gaza. The UN has reported that the majority of casualties in Gaza are women and children, yet their stories are often underrepresented in Western news coverage. As the war in Gaza continues with no end in sight, both Israeli and Palestinian lives remain deeply affected. While Israeli soldiers grapple with the mental health consequences of their actions, critics insist that the narratives of Palestinians—who bear the brunt of the violence—must not be sidelined in the broader discussion.