Civilians in Gaza reportedly under fire from ‘killer cranes’ deployed by Israel
Displacement tents in Gaza City, January 2026
The New Arab reports on 19 June 2026:
Israel’s military has deployed almost two-dozen military cranes in Gaza to launch attacks and conduct surveillance operations, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
Researchers at the rights monitor said they had documented cases of the cranes being used to fire on civilian areas, resulting in deaths and injuries.
The cranes, some of which are operated remotely, are also equipped with cameras and are used to surveil the population.
PCHR said their use is additional evidence of a “systematic policy aimed at undermining the basic survival of the civilian population and creating a coercive environment that repeatedly displaces the population”.
The cranes have been set up at 23 locations behind the so-called yellow line, which separates Israel-occupied Gaza from the rest of the territory, PCHR said.
Unicef said this week that a 12-year-old girl had been shot in the chest from a crane-mounted gun while in her tent.