The Zionist regime’s multi-stage strategy for ethnic cleansing

For decades, the Zionist regime has worked to forcibly transfer the Arab population from historic Palestine. 

For the regime’s current leaders and large segments of settlers, the war on Gaza has presented a critical opportunity to permanently drive Palestinians out of Gaza. 

Since the war began in October 2023, the Zionist regime has demonstrated its intent to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its Palestinian population. However, for much of the war, its leaders have been hesitant to openly articulate this plan, which amounts to ethnic cleansing. 

The occupying regime’s path to ethnic cleansing follows a comprehensive multi-stage program. 

History of ethnic cleansing

The Zionist regime is a veteran of ethnic cleansing, having carried out one of the largest such campaigns in modern history in 1948. Since then, it has continued a slower campaign, primarily in the West Bank, seizing vast Palestinian lands, establishing over 200 settlements and outposts, and settling approximately 700,000 settlers in the area. 

The regime’s settlement expansion program includes routine land confiscation, demolition of homes and neighborhoods, and forced population transfers. 

1. Media Suppression

Relying on decades of expelling Palestinians, the regime’s current leaders determined that limiting media coverage was the first step to depopulating Gaza. To this end, since the war began, the regime has cut off Gaza’s communication with the outside world. 

In October 2023, the Zionist regime sealed Gaza’s borders and barred international journalists from entering the strip. That same month, it informed Agency France-Presse and Reuters that it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists in Gaza. 

The occupying regime has also systematically targeted journalists, with over 200 reporters killed in Gaza to date.

The Zionist regime has also banned several media outlets within the occupied territories and shut down Al Jazeera’s offices in the region and the West Bank. 

2. Forced Population Reduction

The second step of the regime’s ethnic cleansing plan involves eliminating as many Palestinians as possible, primarily through relentless, large-scale aerial bombardment. In late 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his desire to reduce the population to a minimum during a cabinet meeting. 

To achieve this, the regime has dropped thousands of indiscriminate bombs on the small region, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians. 

The Zionist regime has never sought to avoid civilian casualties. Perhaps the most chilling example is its 100:1 targeting ratio, a system allowing the Israeli military to kill over 100 civilians while targeting a single resistance commander. 

According to reports, a Zionist commander recently told his forces: “Everyone you encounter is an enemy; if you see a face, shoot, neutralize the threat, and keep moving; don’t hesitate, don’t think about it.” 

3. Destruction of Gaza’s Healthcare System

The third step aligns with the second. The regime has sought to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as much as possible. 

This ensures prolonged suffering and, in many cases, the slow death of thousands of bombing victims. 

As part of this effort, the regime has systematically attacked and destroyed hospitals. The UN Human Rights Office stated in December 2024 that such attacks have brought Gaza’s healthcare system to the brink of complete collapse, with catastrophic impacts on Palestinians’ access to medical care. 

The regime has also targeted healthcare workers, killed over 1,000 doctors and nurses and detaining or tortured more than 300 others. 

In December, the regime detained the director of one of Gaza’s last operational hospitals. Last month, it killed 15 aid workers and buried them with their ambulances in a mass grave. 

Most critically, the regime has systematically worked to prevent the entry of essential medical supplies. 

The lack of anesthesia drugs has forced many Palestinians, including children, to undergo amputations without anesthesia. Meanwhile, the shortage of fuel for generators has caused incubators to fail, leading to infant deaths. 

4. Rendering Gaza Uninhabitable

The first three stages alone are sufficient to create a catastrophic landscape. However, the fourth may be the most critical component of the ethnic cleansing effort. 

Here, the Zionist regime seeks to make Gaza uninhabitable, leaving Palestinians no choice but to leave. 

The regime has systematically destroyed homes, schools, universities, shelters, and roads. According to Doctors Without Borders, by January 2025, over 90% of Gaza’s housing units were either fully or partially destroyed.