Israeli authorities have issued many evacuation orders from the northern enclave during the year of war, the latest of which was made public on Sunday. The plan, proposed to Netanyahu and the Israeli parliament by a group of retired generals, would increase pressure on civilians by giving Palestinians a week to leave the northern third of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, before declaring it closed military zone.
Those who remain will be considered militants. What’s more, these rules will allow the Israeli army to kill them. City residents would be deprived of food, water, medicine and fuel, according to a copy of the plan provided to The Associated Press by its chief planner on condition of anonymity. He said the plan is the only way to dismantle Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip and pressure the group to release the remaining hostages. The plan also calls for Israel to maintain control of the north for an indefinite period of time to try to establish a new enclave administration without Hamas representatives, dividing the Gaza Strip in two.
So far, very few Palestinians have complied with the latest evacuation order. Some are elderly, sick or afraid to leave their homes, but many fear they have nowhere to go and will never be allowed to return home. Israel did not allow those who fled at the beginning of the war to return to Gaza. “Everyone in Gaza is afraid of this plan,” said Jomana Elkhalili, a 26-year-old Palestinian aid worker for Oxfam who lives in Gaza City with her family.
The Israeli government has not yet made a decision on fully implementing the so-called “Generals’ Plan” and it is unclear how seriously Netanyahu’s cabinet is considering it. When asked if the northern Gaza evacuation orders were the first stages of the “Generals Plan,” Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani responded in the negative. “We have not received such a plan,” he added.
On Sunday, Israel launched an offensive against Hamas fighters in the Jabaliya refugee camp, north of Gaza City. No trucks carrying food, water or medicine have entered the north since September 30, according to the UN and the website of the Israeli military agency that oversees humanitarian crossings in the enclave. For its part, a spokesperson for the US State Department stated that Washington opposes any plan that would lead to a direct Israeli occupation of Gaza. Human rights groups say the plan will likely cause famine among civilians and is contrary to international law, which prohibits the use of blackmail and forced food supply. Allegations that Israel is deliberately restricting food supplies to Gaza are central to the genocide case brought against it before the International Court. Israel denies these accusations.
