Bulldoze

Armored bulldozers

Bulldozers employed for combat-engineering roles are often fitted with armor to protect the driver from firearms and debris, enabling bulldozers to operate in combat zones. The most widely documented use is the Israeli Defense Forces militarized Caterpillar D9, for earth moving, clearing terrain obstacles, opening routes, and detonating explosive charges. The IDF used armored bulldozers extensively during Operation Rainbow where they were used to uproot Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels and destroy residential neighborhoods, water wells and pipes, and agricultural land to expand the military buffer zone along the Philadelphi Route. This use drew criticism against both the use and the suppliers of armoured bulldozers from human-rights organizations such as the EWASH-coalition and Human Rights Watch, the latter of whom urged Caterpillar to cease their sale of bulldozers to the IDF. The use of bulldozers was seen as necessary by Israeli authorities to uproot smuggling tunnels, destroy houses used by Palestinian terrorists, and expand the buffer zone.