Ethnic cleansing
Last updated: June 18, 2024
Ethnic cleansing is openly discussed in Israeli discourse, including by ministers in the ruling government. This includes the ministers of Finance,1 National Security (who also stated he would like to live in Gaza),2 Heritage (who also called to drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza),3 Agriculture (who claimed that another Nakba was ongoing),4 the former Minister of Information5 and a former Minister of Justice.6 Israel MPs have also participated in the discussion.7 Other state officials have said similar things. The head of a local council, for example, proposed to send all Gazans to Lebanon, flatten the whole Strip so “it becomes an empty museum like Auschwitz”.8 Some IDF officers and soldiers fighting in Gaza support the same idea.9 A Israeli government plan proposal to repopulate all Gazans to the Sinai Peninsula (part of Egypt) has been leaked.10 Israel has also attempted to get the US to pressure Egypt into accepting Gazan refugees,11 and has attempted to convince several countries including Congo to accept Palestinian refugees.12 Other locations members of Israel government suggested as potential resettlement locations include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the European Union and Chile.13 According to Israeli media, Chad and Rwanda have expressed interest to accept tens of thousands of Palestinians in exchange for generous financial support that included military support.14 In early February a coalition MP stated that the removal of Gazans from the North of the Strip is “the only achievement we have in the war”.15 In mid-February a local human rights organization revealed that Egypt was building a high-security area for the reception of Palestinian refugees,16 and in late March an Egyptian source claimed Egypt was preparing for the entrance of 150,000 Palestinians during an Israeli invasion of Rafah.17 Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, suggested in mid March that Israel should remove civilians from Gaza and added that “waterfront property [in Gaza] could be very valuable”.18 According to estimates, the number of Palestinians who left to Egypt by April was 30-50 thousand.19 In early April, a coalition MP said that several government offices were working on an operational program to resettle the Gaza Strip with a Jewish population “behind the scenes”.20 In late April, Israel’s Minister of Finance described the upcoming battle in the southern Gaza Strip as against Amalek, and called for absolute destruction of the cities there.21
The absence of clear war plans,22 war goals or a clear end game to the war has allowed many Israelis to support the resettling of Gaza with Jewish settlements after the war.23 Over 30 right-wing organizations have supported this goal in a late January conference.24 A total of 11 ministers and 15 MPs (of a total of 120) participated in the conference.25 Several IDF soldiers have stated their will to resettle Gaza while uniformed and within Gaza.26 In March, the commander of an armored battalion did the same during an interview with Israeli TV.27 A poll from December found that 58% of Israelis (likely Jews) believe that the entire population of Gaza should be transferred away from the Gaza Strip.28 Other polls from January, February, March and April reveal that some 20-25% of Israeli Jews believe that Israel should resettle Gaza.29 A poll from March-April revealed that 50% of Israeli Jews thought that Israel should govern the Gaza Strip after the war.30
Anecdotal evidence from Gaza and Israeli society provides more indications: A video from late February presents an Israeli civilian tractor sowing fields within the Gaza Strip as a “victory photo”.31 In early March, Jewish activists were able to briefly enter the Gaza Strip in an attempt to build a settlement there.32 A video of a military convoy driving in a major road in the Strip reveals a very large number of Israeli flags placed along it.33 A prominent settler leader declared in an interview on CNN that removing the local population of Gaza is necessary, while also claiming that she had a list of 500 Jewish families that were ready and willing to resettle Gaza.34 A former MP claimed on TV in June that “we [Israeli Jews] could not live in this land if even one such Islamo-Nazi remains in Gaza, and not before we return to Gaza and turn it into Hebrew Gaza”.35
Inside the Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers appear to have constructed “the first synagogue in Khan Younis”,36 another synagogue there,37 as well as inaugurated a Torah scroll in at least four occasions (Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City, the Islamic University in Gaza, Khan Younis, and the Netzarim Corridor).38 One soldier filmed himself spray painting the Temple in Jerusalem on the ruins of a destroyed mosque in Gaza.39 An IDF military “pizzeria” has allegedly opened in Khan Younis, and soldiers placed a sign of a fast food restaurant that might soon open in Gaza.40 Other soldiers hold a commercial sign of an American construction company from New Jersey (and an American flag) with the destroyed buildings of Gaza in the background.41 Donna Italia (an international pizzeria chain) appears to have opened a pizzeria in a displaced family’s home in Khan Younis to support IDF troops.42 Many of these initiatives, it seems, were relatively short-lived. In late March, it appears that soldiers recorded themselves reading the Scroll of Esther in al-Shifa hospital.43 Videos from April show that soldiers took over the Turkish Palestinian Friendship Hospital, turned it into a barracks and celebrated a large Passover feast (seder?) in it.44 A different unit took over a Gazan school, transforming it into its base.45 In May, a journalist showcased the first military synagogue in the area of Rafah,46 while soldiers from an IDF unit prepared a makeshift sign declaring a new settlement in the Gaza Strip.47
All the evidence I have seen indicates that Israel is systematically destroying Gaza to make it unlivable in the future. In the first week of fighting, Israel dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza – over the annual total used by the US in Afghanistan.48 In the first three months of fighting Israel had destroyed over 10,000 buildings in the Strip – compared to some 4,700 buildings in Aleppo after three years of fighting. A coalition of aid groups stated in December that rebuilding the housing destroyed to that point will take 7 to 10 years if financing is available and will cost some $3.5 billion.49 According to a joint report by the World Bank and the UN, the cost of damage to physical structures alone was around $18.5 billion at the end of January (the cost during the 2014 Protective Edge was $1.4 billion).50 In mid May a UN official stated that rebuilding could cost around $50 billion over two decades.51 The amount of debris created by the destruction of residential areas (estimates ranged between 26 and 37 million tons in April) will take many years to remove.52 A top UN demining official claimed that simply clearing the debris could take as much as 14 years.53 An expert on the warfare-related destruction pointed out that the case of Gaza fits the term ‘domicide’, a massive violation of the right to housing and basic infrastructure in residential areas by making them inhabitable, which is itself a crime against humanity.48
Israel is said to have dropped over 500 2,000-pound bombs within the densely populated urban area, despite the massive collateral damage these bombs cause (causing death or injury in a radius of up to 365 meters around the target). These bombs are four times heavier than the largest bombs the United States used when fighting ISIS in Mosul; the US dropped a single such 2,000-pound bomb throughout its fight with ISIS.54 After two months of fighting, Israel had already caused more destruction in Gaza than Syria in Aleppo (2012-2016), Russia in Mariupol in 2022, or (proportionally) the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II,55 as well as the fights against ISIS in Mosul (2016-7) and Raqqa (2017).56
Over 60 percent of Gaza’s housing units have been destroyed or damaged.57 As of mid-January experts estimate based on satellite imagery that between 142,900 to 176,900 buildings have been damaged.58 By early March, 54.8% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip were likely damaged or destroyed (~70% in the North, ~50% in Khan Younis).59 By early June, the amount increased to 58.5%.60 Drone videos reveal the extent of the destruction.61 By late March, some between a quarter and a third of greenhouses were completely destroyed, some 40-48% of tree crops in Gaza have been damaged; some 48% of tree cover has been lost or damaged; and some 38% of farmland (roughly half the Strip’s total land area) was destroyed by Israeli military activity.62 Some of the destruction is purposeful, as indicated in videos by IDF troops.63 As a result of the war and destruction, 89% of Gazan workers lost their jobs by December.64 As of April, all staff of at least one hospital have not been paid since October 7.65 According to estimates, the GDP of Gaza has decreased by some 80%.66
Israel has destroyed not only buildings whose connection to Hamas militants is weak or non-existent,67 but also a long list of cultural institutions,68 historical and archaeological sites,69 dozens of governmental buildings (including the parliament70 and the main courthouse)71, religious buildings (over 233 mosques and 3 churches72), universities (most or all universities in Gaza have been destroyed according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor; at least 5 of 7 major universities were destroyed or partially damaged according to NBC; 12 of 12 were damaged or destroyed according to Le Monde),73 hospitals,74 educational facilities (88% of school buildings sustained some level of damage; 13 public libraries were destroyed or damaged),75 archives,76 and UN offices.77 Already in early December, Israeli attacks destroyed or damaged more than 100 heritage sites, including buildings from Gaza’s medieval, Byzantine and Roman periods 78 (by mid April the number rose to 195 such sites).79 Soldiers have been filmed within a warehouse filled with antiquities, and there appears to have been a post by the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority that claimed that some of those antiquities were taken to Israel and presented in the Knesset (the post was later deleted).80 An investigative report by an NGO followed a single unit’s path within Gaza, raising serious concerns regarding the justification of the many explosions it was responsible for.81 Certain areas have been completely cleared of Palestinian buildings. For example, one IDF soldier claims his unit received orders to destroy the village of Khuzaʽa and uploaded a video showing that they accomplished the mission over two weeks.82 In this reality, even a simple shelter such as a tent is sold for more than $800. Those who cannot afford such an expense improvise a shelter from simple materials.83 An alternative is to rent half destroyed and burnt apartments. One such apartment in Khan Younis cost $330/month.84
The civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip necessary to the functioning of a society has been severely damaged. Most of Gaza’s 980 registered NGOs have ceased operations.85 Some 88% of all school buildings have sustained damage.57 As of late March, Israel has destroyed 91% (51 of 56) of bank branches and 92% (84 of 91) of the ATMs in the Gaza Strip. All surviving branches and ATMs are in the Strip’s south.86 Using an ATM or attempting to get access to one’s money through money changers have high commissions (e.g. 17%).83 At least 16 cemeteries have been desecrated by the IDF, often by bulldozing.87 One video shows a bulldozer driving within a cemetery,88 while another shows the results of such an operation, with corpses left scattered across the landscape.89 The IDF has also bulldozed burial sites at Nasser hospital.90 The IDF further bulldozed broad areas in the Gaza Strip.91 An online video depicts the torching of the Shujjaiya neighborhood in a military operation.92 Satellite images reveal the massive extent of destruction of Khan Younis.93 In late March, a UNICEF spokesperson described “utter annihilation” in Khan Younis, stating that “the depth of the horror surpasses our ability to describe it”.94
Evidence supports the conclusion that Israel is attempting to destroy all buildings inside the Gaza Strip within a kilometer of the Israel-Gaza fence to create a “buffer zone”.95 This buffer zone will take over 16% of the territory of the Gaza Strip.96 Such destruction has been described by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights as a “grave breach of the Fourth Geneva convention and a war crime”.97 In mid-February, Israeli media announced that the IDF was constructing a road to bisect the Gaza Strip, suggesting its plans for a long occupation.98 In early March, its construction was completed,99 and it enables rapid movement and will be held by Israel for “at least another year” according to the IDF.100 At least 750 buildings have been destroyed to create a buffer zone on both sides of the road.101 In subsequent months, Israel built bases within the Gaza Strip by taking over civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools, as well as watchtowers and outposts.102
The destruction in Gaza has resulted in the displacement of some 75 percent of Gaza’s population.103 An investigation of Israel’s evacuation orders to Gazans revealed numerous unclarities and inconsistencies within the IDF’s official orders.104 This included, for example, five different geographical definitions of the al-Mawasi “safe zone”, which was itself bombed and invaded by IDF ground troops.105 Other supposed “safe zones” were not safe. An NBC investigation examined seven airstrikes that took place in areas the IDF declared as safe, killing civilians.106 Some of the evacuation orders were given online during periods of full communication outages.107 Already by early February, 67% of the Gaza Strip’s area was under evacuation orders.108 As a result of these repeated orders and the general overcrowdedness of the Strip, many Palestinians have been displaced several times.109