Investigations by major media outlets, including Haaretz, The Guardian, and local news sources, have confirmed that the Israeli Ministry of Defense relies heavily on private civilian contractors to carry out structural demolition operations in Southern Lebanon.
Given the significant concentration of Arab citizens of Israel—i.e., Palestinians of the ‘48 community—in the construction, excavation, and earth-moving sectors, Arab-owned private companies, Arab subcontractors, Bedouin contractors, and members of the Druze community are directly involved in operating heavy machinery, including excavators and bulldozers, as part of demolition and clearance operations conducted by the Israeli Ministry of Defense across the border.
Key Documented Cases and Personnel
Although government procurement records identifying the contracted private companies remain classified under Israeli national security laws, specific names, entities, and operational locations have emerged through official casualty notices, military statements, and journalistic investigations.
1. The Hujairat Family and Subcontractors — Shefa-Amr
Identified individual: Amer Hujairat, 44, a heavy-machinery owner and private contractor from the Arab city of Shefa-Amr in northern Israel.
Company/subcontracting model: Hujairat owned and operated excavation equipment and heavy machinery under a direct subcontracting agreement with the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Town targeted for demolition: Aitaroun, Bint Jbeil District, Southern Lebanon.
Documented incident: On April 29, 2026, while operating an excavator to demolish homes and infrastructure in Aitaroun, Hujairat was killed in a direct FPV drone strike targeting the heavy machinery he was operating.
His 19-year-old son, who was working alongside him as a machinery operator for the same family business, was also injured in the attack.