The Dahiya doctrine is an Israeli military strategy. It uses large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure to pressure hostile groups. It was outlined by Gadi Eizenkot. He was chief of staff of Israeli forces. The doctrine is named after Dahieh neighborhood in Beirut. Hezbollah had headquarters there. Israeli forces heavily damaged it in 2006 Lebanon War. Eizenkot said in 2008: What happened in Dahieh will happen in every village from which shots are fired at Israel. We will use disproportionate power and cause immense damage. He said these villages are military bases. The logic is to make life so hard for civilians that they turn against militants. This forces the enemy to ask for peace. Israel colonel Gabi Siboni wrote that Israel should target economic interests and centers of civilian power. Analysts say Israel used this doctrine in Gaza in 2008-09. The UN Goldstone Report said it was designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize civilians. The UN Fact Finding Mission said the doctrine was put into practice. In 2023 Gaza war, commentators said attacks on civilian infrastructure may be extension of doctrine. Critics say it violates international law. Richard Falk called it state terrorism. Paul Rogers said it will fail because Hamas will come back. The doctrine is still relevant today.

Sources:

• https://www.inss.org.il/publication/the-idfs-new-response-policy-vis-a-vis-hizbollah-how-viable-is-it/

• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/05/israel-disproportionate-force-tactic-infrastructure-economy-civilian-casualties

• https://efe.com/latest-news/2024-06-12/new-un-report-accuses-israel-of-deliberate-civilian-targeting-war-crimes-in-gaza/