“Branding the Land” and “Symbol of Hate”: Satellite Images Reveal Star of David Carved into Gaza

Gaza (Quds News Network)- Newly released satellite images of what was once farmland in northern Gaza reveal what appears to be a Star of David carved into the ground, with the numbers 7979 next to it, a possible reference to the Israeli military’s 97th Netzah Yehuda Battalion.
The symbol of both the Jewish faith and Israel can be seen in images of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Next to the star appears the number 7979, which refers to the Israeli 97th Netzah Yehuda Battalion, an all-male ultra-Orthodox unit.
According to research by Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University and Corey Scher of the City University of New York, 60 percent of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli forces since the war began. In Beit Hanoun, the figure is 70 percent.
“Branding the Land”
The Netzah Yehuda Battalion made the Star of David “for Google Maps, to be seen that they were here”, Hamze Attar, a Palestinian defence analyst, told Al Jazeera.
Attar said the act could have been a response to plans by the administration of former US President Joe Biden to sanction the battalion.
In August, however, the US Department of State ended its investigation into breaches of its own Leahy Laws, which prohibit the transfer of weapons to overseas military units involved in gross human rights violations, following objections by the Israeli occupation government. The investigation had been focused on Netzah Yehuda.
“We’re seeing what absolute impunity looks like in an army that is given everything it needs to destroy Palestinian life,” said Elia Ayoub, researcher and author of the Hauntologies newsletter.
“As in any genocide, those committing them often take pleasure in displaying their superiority by forcing their symbols on their victims. The Israeli army also utilises religious figures who speak of this genocide of Palestinians and the colonisation of Gaza as a religious duty.”
“The [Israeli military] has rabbis on the ground, and soldiers have brought the menorah and shofar to the battlefield,” Ayoub said. “This is not new. It’s just much more widespread now. The Israeli religious philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz described these attitudes as that of Judeo-Nazis in the 1990s, warning that it could become the norm if not stopped. Sadly he was right.”
“Branding is about ownership. It’s about marking your territory,” said Chris Arning, the founder and director of Creative Semiotics, a consultancy specialising in the meaning of brand symbols.
“Branding originally came from tradespeople marking their products or farmers branding their cattle to signify ownership. Over time, that also included the branding of convicts and slaves.”
The carving of the Star of David into the soil of Beit Hanoun can be seen as an act of symbolic violence, Arning said, referring to the violence that symbol represents in the local context.
“In many ways,” Arning continued, “it’s branding the land.”
“Symbol of Hate”
The satellite images were widely shared online, with many users accusing Israel of turning the Star of David into a “symbol of hate” and misusing the religious symbols in their brutal assault.
Whether torn into Gaza’s earth or pulverized into the face of Palestinian prisoners or spray painted on the walls of Palestinian homes and shops, Israel has made the Star of David a symbol of hate.
Archives here 👉 https://t.co/4U5t5opz6T pic.twitter.com/OYYOvTNa5l
— Samira Mohyeddin سمیرا (@SMohyeddin) January 25, 2025
This is a representation of genocide by the @Israel occupation on google maps when searching for Beit Hanoun in north Gaza. It’s marked with the religious Jewish symbol of the Star of David. The actions of genocidal Zionists remind us of the Nazi symbol during Hitler’s Holocaust. pic.twitter.com/bPRooHL8Vg
— Abbas Hamideh (@Resistance48) January 28, 2025
Yes folks, this is real (I just took this screenshot myself).
Pull up Beit Hanoun in Google maps and see for yourself (though seems likely Google will blur the image at some point). pic.twitter.com/bbE1nkpnf0
— Lara Friedman (@LaraFriedmanDC) January 25, 2025
@SuppressedNws
Hey if you could share this
Google maps has updated the terrain in Gaza and if you search for Beit Hanoun you could see a star of david drawn on the land.
They're making sure to know who did this. pic.twitter.com/Fxi0wrTwHj— 🇵🇸 (@Not_So_Frosty15) January 25, 2025
During the war on Gaza, Israeli forces celebrated the devastation by carving or spray-painting the Star of David and other Jewish symbols into demolished buildings and neighborhoods. They also erected giant Menorah candles on the rubble.
WATCH: A 13 meter high Hanukkah Menorah in the heart of Shejaiya, inside the Gaza Strip
📹 – Bithaon Sadei pic.twitter.com/pyh8rrXpN7
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) December 7, 2023
Israeli soldiers have begun erecting massive menorahs on the ruins of Palestinian decimated neighborhoods in Gaza, marking the approach of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday. pic.twitter.com/NIbGMpSOtF
— Israel Genocide Tracker (@trackingisrael) December 24, 2024
Israeli soldiers raising menorahs in Gaza on the ruins of Palestinian homes whose owning families were either killed or ethnically cleansed https://t.co/dN4j1IeFbw pic.twitter.com/upjsB21aeC
— Tameem | تميم (@TameeOliveFern) November 1, 2024
Al-Katiba Park was a popular weekend destination in Gaza City for hundreds of families who would usually gather to chat, play and enjoy their free time after a busy week.
The park has now been destroyed by Israeli tanks, with a massive Star of David carved across the park. pic.twitter.com/CwKFvHgPTr
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 18, 2023
Moreover, Palestinian cities and neighborhoods in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and 1948-occupied territories are often vandalized by settlers who spray paint the star and accompanying racist slogans over Palestinian murals, on vehicles and flags.
تغطية صحفية: مستوطنون يعتدون على منازل ومركبات الفلسطينيين في منطقة واد المزين جنوب الخليل. pic.twitter.com/rE4sii5Ofh
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) February 14, 2023
In 2023, Israeli soldiers were accused of branding a Star of David on the head of a Palestinian detainee from occupied Jerusalem.