Israel has been waging a war on Gaza’s ability to govern itself and maintain law and order as a part of its 18-month-long genocidal campaign. The broad objective of this strategy has been to create a civil and humanitarian vacuum in Gaza that would lead to chaos and lawlessness. The intended effect, in Israel’s eyes, is either total social collapse, the spread of criminality, or the emergence of an alternative “clan”-based leadership in Gaza instead of Hamas. Israel stands to gain from any of those scenarios.

To make sure this administrative vacuum is maintained, Israel has launched periodic assassination campaigns targeting members of Gaza’s civil government — the police force, the security forces, the Civil Defense, and the healthcare system.