Outsourcing Genocide: Israel’s Bulldozer Ads Reveal the Industrial Scale of Gaza’s Destruction

Watan-In a Guardian column, commentator Arwa Mahdawi wrote that you don’t need to guess Israel’s intent in Gaza — just look at how the Israeli military is outsourcing the destruction of the Strip and the displacement of its people.

Now, the Israeli army is openly posting Facebook ads to recruit bulldozer drivers to help demolish Gaza.

Mahdawi points to Israeli-American historian Omer Bartov, one of the world’s foremost genocide scholars, who has spent over 25 years studying mass atrocities. Even for someone so familiar with humanity’s worst crimes, Bartov admits he cannot bear to look at some of the horrific images emerging from Gaza.

He states:“What’s happening there is unprecedented in the 21st century. I don’t know of any similar case. Recent estimates suggest about 70% of buildings in Gaza are either completely destroyed or heavily damaged. To claim that the Israeli army is fighting a war in Gaza is absurd. What it’s doing is destroying it. Hundreds of buildings are demolished weekly by bulldozers — and this is no secret — yet mainstream media coverage is sorely lacking.”

One reason for the media silence is the lack of access — foreign journalists are barred from Gaza, and Israel continues to target and kill Palestinian reporters.

“I feel like I’m screaming into a void,” Mahdawi writes, “Every time I repeat this sentence, yet many colleagues in mainstream media continue to ignore this blatant assault on press freedom.”

Despite that, the destruction isn’t being hidden. In fact, Israel is now urgently in need of more bulldozers, so much so that over the past two months, it has posted Facebook ads offering up to 3,000 shekels ($882 USD) per day for bulldozer drivers to help destroy Gaza.

Mahdawi says she found at least 12 such ads on Meta platforms since late May, many posted in public groups for heavy equipment drivers.

A recent Haaretz article revealed the pricing structure:

• 2,500 shekels to demolish a small building

• 5,000 shekels for a large building

Legal scholar Neve Gordon, professor of international law and human rights at Queen Mary University in London, stated:

“The idea that bulldozers have become a central weapon of war and genocide is new. This isn’t about razing a building or two — entire towns and neighborhoods are being wiped out.”

Even more disturbing is the search for foreign drivers.

“The Israeli army doesn’t usually operate like this. It can requisition equipment and call up drivers as military reservists. Recruiting civilians to demolish Gaza neighborhoods? That’s outsourcing genocide,” Gordon said.

Israeli media reports confirm a shortage of drivers, prompting recruitment of civilians for military tasks in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. Gordon sees this as part of a broader system to privatize destruction and circumvent legal accountability.

Mahdawi notes that international law is being ignored, asking:“Is it legal to bulldoze entire villages and urban districts in Gaza?”

Gordon replies:“No. If a house is being used by a sniper, maybe. But entire neighborhoods? That’s a blatant violation. International law looks at discrete actions, not large-scale context. But Gaza is clearly different — it’s systematic.”

Israel often justifies the destruction by claiming buildings are used as tunnel entrances. But Gordon points out that these justifications are not trusted anymore.

“For months, Israel claimed Hamas’s HQ was beneath al-Shifa Hospital — Gaza’s largest. That was false. To assess Israel’s claims, we need independent investigations. But Israel refuses entry to such teams. You can draw your own conclusions about why.”

Worse still, Meta’s platforms have hosted videos glorifying this destruction — particularly from bulldozer operator and rabbi Avraham Zarabiv, who promotes the demolitions as a heroic new military strategy.

When Mahdawi flagged Zarabiv’s videos to Meta, they were removed — but the ads seeking bulldozer drivers remained. Meta declined comment, referring only to their general content policies.

Gordon emphasized:“Ads recruiting people to help commit potential war crimes or genocide are unlawful. This is more than unethical — it could make Meta complicit.”

Professor John Reynolds, an expert in international law and war crimes at Maynooth University in Ireland, added:

“This could constitute facilitation of war crimes and incitement to violence. It violates international humanitarian law and could breach the duty to prevent genocide — a legal obligation of both states and corporations.”

Bartov concludes that Israel’s actions align with publicly stated objectives:

“Officials have said they aim to destroy 75% of Gaza using bombs and D9 bulldozers — many imported from the U.S. The plan is to concentrate the entire population in the remaining 25% in al-Mawasi. Eventually, to make them leave — or disappear.”

Mahdawi says when she last spoke to Bartov, things were already dire. But now Israeli officials are more brazen.

“Defense Minister Israel Katz recently said they plan to confine Gazans to a concentration camp built atop Rafah’s ruins.”

Meanwhile, Western governments and tech giants like Meta appear not just willing to allow this to happen, but to facilitate it.

“The revolution may not be televised,” she concludes, “but genocide is clearly being privatized.”