D9 ARMOURED BULLDOZERS IN THE IDF
How U.S. Funds the Mass Displacement of Civilians
An Educational Brief • April 2026 • A New Policy
Overview
On March 21, 2026, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that “all houses and villages near the Lebanese border will be destroyed, in accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza.” That model, the systematic demolition of thousands of homes, including after the end of active hostilities and without discernible military justification, is being carried out using the D9 Armoured Bulldozer, manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. Within the Occupied Palestinian territories, the Palestinian population lives under military law, and the Israeli military utilizes Regulation 119, Defense (Emergency) Regulations (1945) which allows military commanders to order the demolition of any home or structure utilized by a convicted or suspected terrorist.
A DOCUMENTED PATTERN: TIMELINE OF D9 USE AGAINST CIVILIANS
2002 - 2003: Rafah - Death of Rachel Corrie
In 2002, B’tselem documented IDF D9s destroying 60 homes in the Rafah refugee camp, displacing over 600 Palestinians five years before Hamas took power. On March 16, 2003, American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an IDF D9 while attempting to prevent home demolition in Rafah, her fluorescent jacket, visible to the operator. Her death became an international symbol of the D9’s use against civilians.
2004: Razing Rafah: 16,000 displaced, 51% of roads destroyed
Human Rights Watch documented a pattern of illegal mass demolitions in Rafah. IDF D9s slowed through residential blocks to create “tank paths,” destroying 51% of Rafah’s roads using rear-mounted ripper blades and demolishing homes near suspected smuggling tunnels regardless of specific threats. An estimated 16,000 people lost their homes.
2008 - 2009: Operation Cast Lead
Israel deployed 100 D9 bulldozers during Operation Cast Lead. Human Rights Watch reported 12 cases of unlawful destruction of homes, factories, farms, and greenhouses in areas under IDF control with no evident military purpose - many carried out in the operations final days as Israeli withdrawal was imminent, with no active fighting in the affected areas.
2014: Operation Protective Edge
A UN satellite damage assessment found that over 475,000 people were displaced from their homes by the end of the operation. D9 bulldozers participated in the ground offensive, and were reported in demolishing across Gaza and contributing to the destruction of entire neighborhoods.
2020: Gaza
Following a threat of renewed war in Gaza, an IDF bulldozer is filmed dragging the body of a Palestinian in a suspected war crime. Video footage shows Palestinian youths under machine gun fire attempting to retrieve the body.
July 2023: Operation Home and Garden
The Israeli military carried out a large-scale operation in the Jenin refugee camp resulting in 3,500 to 4,000 Palestinians being displaced. D9 bulldozers demolished multiple roads in and around the camp delaying ambulances reaching wounded civilians. 12 Palestinians including 4 children were killed and 143 injured.
September 2023 - 2026: 8,218 homes demolished
Since October 2024, IDF D9 bulldozers, in controlled demolition, demolished 8,218 homes in Gaza, many after ceasefires and without military rationale. A 2026 UN report documented the destruction as systematic, occurring in neighborhoods cleared of combatants and posing no ongoing military threat. A New York Times report detailed 50 social media accounts of Israeli soldiers demolishing houses, schools and other civilian buildings.
September 2024: West Bank Raid
The IDF deployed D9s as collective punishment following the October 7th, 2023 attacks. In the West Bank IDF raids caused an estimated $135 million in damages: 20km of water, sewage, electricity, and communication networks were destroyed; 70% of the road network was demolished along with 40 residential buildings and 10 businesses being damaged.
November 2024: Villages and cemeteries razed after Lebanon ceasefire
Following the 2024 ceasefire in Lebanon, IDF D9s demolished entire villages and leveled cemeteries, obliterating headstones and burial markers.
December 2024:
Following the October 7th attacks, the IDF tightened restrictions on movement for Palestinians utilizing D9 bulldozers to cut off access to major roads and critical access to hospitals and work. Palestinians who set out from home in the West Bank cannot know whether they will make it to work or when, keep a medical appointment, or visit family. They may wait for hours at a checkpoint and be humiliated by soldiers, they may have to turn around and go home, or they may be arrested.
January 2025: Operation Iron Wall: largest displacement since 1967
The IDF demolished or heavily damaged at least 850 structures across refugee camps of Nur Shams, Jenin, and Tulkarem continuing acts of collective punishment. Resulting in the displacement of some 40,000 people in the largest mass displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since the Israeli occupation began in 1967.
September 2025: Expansion into de jure Syria
Following the collapse of the Assad regime and the withdrawal of Iranian and Russian forces, Israel expanded military bases further into de jure Syrian territory. D9s completely flattened the northern part of Al-Hamidiya. In Jubata al-Khashab, Israeli forces bulldozed decades-old apple, cherry, apricot, and olive orchards, destroying communities’ agricultural livelihoods.
