‘Cycle of chaos’: Israel killing Gaza civil officials to derail its future
Despite a months-long ceasefire, analysts say Israel’s relentless attacks aim to prevent Palestinian recovery, sabotage the Trump plan and pave the way for permanent occupation
Despite a months-long ceasefire, analysts say Israel’s relentless attacks aim to prevent Palestinian recovery, sabotage the Trump plan and pave the way for permanent occupation. An Israeli attack in northern Gaza’s Jabalia camp on Tuesday killed the director of a police station and several officers, adding to a mounting civilian death toll. Despite a months-long “ceasefire”, Israel continues to launch deadly raids across the Palestinian territory, citing the presence of Hamas fighters and “imminent threats”. However, political and strategic analysts warn that these daily incursions are not isolated security operations, but rather part of what appears to be a calculated pattern to kill law enforcement officers, medical professionals, government officials and intellectuals. These killings, they warn, could systematically derail the United States-backed plan for a post-war Gaza, paralyse the so-called Board of Peace set up under the Trump administration plan, and effectively allow Israel to maintain indefinite control over a territory that is otherwise uninhabitable. Normalising the killing Since the “ceasefire” agreement took effect, Israel has conditioned the international community to accept daily breaches and killings in Gaza as the new normal, effectively acting as if the pact does not restrict its military freedom, analysts said. This ongoing violence has pushed the total death toll since October 7, 2023, to at least 73,233, with 173,707 injured. According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, there have been 3,689 recorded Israeli violations during the 275-day “ceasefire”, resulting in 1,122 Palestinians killed and 3,599 injured. Furthermore, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate under the ceasefire, with Israel allowing only 35 percent of the expected aid trucks and 36 percent of permitted travellers to cross the borders. The deliberate targeting of Gaza’s civic foundation extends far beyond military objectives, deeply affecting those tasked with maintaining order and providing essential services. The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) reported that Israeli attacks are systematically targeting police officers, whose role is essential for civic order and any future reconstruction.
Since January 2026, OHCHR has recorded at least 12 attacks on police, killing 35 personnel, including officers targeted while directing traffic or overseeing markets. In one instance, on May 23, an Israeli attack on a Gaza City checkpoint killed at least five officers. Alongside law enforcement, Gaza’s educational and medical sectors have been decimated. Most hospitals have been bombed and destroyed, with numerous medical teams killed in the process. The education system has suffered a similar fate. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, at least 441 teachers and other personnel have been killed, alongside more than 11,000 schoolchildren. The intellectual and bureaucratic leadership of the enclave has also been systematically eliminated. At least 117 academics have been killed, including prominent figures like Sufyan Tayeh, a mathematician and president of the Islamic University of Gaza, who was killed with his family in a Jabalia refugee camp bombing. Ahmed al-Tanani, a writer and political analyst based in Gaza, noted that Israel’s pretexts for these strikes have shifted from “security events” to “killing on intention”, striking individuals citing baseless claims that they intend to attack Israeli forces. The recent targeting of police officers and civil personnel reveals a broader objective. According to al-Tanani, the strikes are a direct response to Hamas demonstrating political flexibility, including its recent decision to dissolve its governmental administrative committee in the enclave. “Israel is saying clearly that its problem in the Gaza Strip is not with Hamas; its problem is with the entire national structure in Gaza, with the society, and with any possibility of recovery,” al-Tanani told Al Jazeera. “Israeli missiles primarily aim to push the Strip into a continuous cycle of death, non-recovery, chaos and internal security tampering.” Making Gaza ‘uninhabitable’ For Israel, the immediate goal of this escalation is to prevent the implementation of the Trump plan, while its long-term objective remains the indefinite occupation and expansion of settlements in Gaza, say analysts.
The BriefWire