The graves of dozens of Australian soldiers at a historic cemetery in Gaza have been bulldozed by Israeli forces, who also appear to have built earthworks and carved access roads through the sacred site.
Satellite images and witness testimony reveal the clearing of a section of the Gaza War Cemetery in the Tuffah area of Gaza City that mainly houses the graves of Australian soldiers who gave their lives in the Second World War, The Guardian reported.
Another even larger section containing mostly British First World War dead has also been cleared, while a Canadian UN plot has been destroyed and Indian plots heavily damaged.
UK and Commonwealth war graves, Northern Gaza
Latitude: 31.51247, Longitude: 34.4821
Looked after by the same Palestinian family for a century before they were forced to flee in 2023
Desecrated and destroyed since then by the Israelis pic.twitter.com/RANQTnHFRj— Donahue Rogers (@DonahueRogers) February 4, 2026
The aerial photographs show rows of gravestones removed by heavy machinery to create a large earth berm, and Essam Jarada, who was the cemetery’s caretaker for 45 years, said the damage was done during two bulldozing operations in April and May last year.
“The first bulldozing occurred outside the cemetery walls, extending approximately 12 metres around all sides of the cemetery. These areas were entirely planted with olive trees,” he said.
“Later on, an area of slightly less than one dunum (1,000 sq metres) was bulldozed inside the cemetery walls, specifically in the corner of the cemetery which contains graves of Australian soldiers.
“The bulldozing covered the area from the bench where foreign visitors used to sit up to the memorial monument. Bulldozers also created sand mounds that were used as earth barriers. I witnessed this bulldozing after the Israeli army withdrew from the area, around late April or early May.”
The Israel Defense Forces said the damage was caused while the area was an “active combat zone”.
“During IDF operations in the area, terrorists attempted to attack IDF troops and took cover in structures close to the cemetery. In response to ensure the safety of IDF troops operating on the ground, operational measures were taken in the area to neutralise identified threats,” a spokesperson said.
“We emphasise that underground terrorist infrastructure was identified within the cemetery and in its surrounding area, which the IDF located and dismantled. IDF activity in sensitive areas is approved by senior ranks in the army and handled with the required sensitivity needed.”
In August last year the IDF reported demolishing a 1km-long Hamas tunnel in the area, and shared a photo of a rocket launcher they said was found in the cemetery.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles was asked about the report on Thursday and said he was not aware of it, but Australia’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs has confirmed the cemetery suffered “significant damage”, including to the graves of Australians.
“The Office of Australian War Graves is very concerned by the damage to the cemetery and Australian war graves. We remain committed to ensuring the restoration of all affected graves as soon as feasible,” the spokesperson said.
“The Commonwealth War Graves Commission plans to secure and repair the cemetery as soon as it is safe to do so, however, it is expected that full reconstruction will take some time as the immediate post-conflict priority for works will be directed to humanitarian efforts.”
RSL national president Peter Tinley called the news of the damage “distressing” and military historian Peter Stanley, as professor at the University of NSW Canberra, described the bulldozing as a “desecration of the graves of Australian soldiers”.
“At the same time as the Israelis are, understandably, demanding the return of the remains of hostages, the IDF is bulldozing the remains of Commonwealth soldiers; there’s an irony there,” Dr Stanley said.
The Gaza War Cemetery contains the graves of more than 250 Australian soldiers, the majority of light horsemen who died in the First World War.
Header image: The cemetery before the war (Commonwealth War Graves).
The post Israel bulldozes Australian war graves at cemetery in Gaza first appeared on The Noticer.
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