IDF Bulldozer Buries Children Alive: Disputed Eyewitness Testimony

Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an American orthopedic surgeon who volunteered in Gaza, testified that eyewitnesses described watching an Israeli military bulldozer bury two screaming children alive — in what he described as a hospital courtyard that was turned into a mass grave; he said the children's bodies, with hands tied, were later found when the grave was excavated.

The claim was not independently verified. Dr. Perlmutter was reporting second-hand testimony — what witnesses told him — rather than something he personally witnessed. The IDF did not confirm the account and did not comment on this specific allegation.

The account is notable for several reasons: it comes from a credentialed Western medical professional who was present in Gaza, and it is consistent with a broader documented pattern of IDF bulldozer operations that destroyed structures with limited warning, sometimes while civilians were believed to be inside. The United Nations documented multiple incidents of IDF military engineering operations causing civilian deaths.

However, the specific claim — a bulldozer burying screaming children — could not be corroborated through photographic or forensic evidence at the time of this writing. If it refers to the Nasser Hospital graves, open-source analysts (GeoConfirmed) and outlets including Sky News and France 24 found those graves were dug by Palestinians during the siege; the IDF said it exhumed bodies there while searching for hostages and reburied them. It is presented here as reported testimony, not confirmed fact.