The Israeli military has launched a fresh assault on northern Gaza and ordered all Palestinian civilians living in the north to head south, signaling Israel may be enacting an ethnic cleansing plan that has been reviewed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Known as the “general’s plan” since it was drawn up by retired IDF generals, the plan would result in the complete ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from areas in Gaza north of the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land controlled by the Israeli military that separates Gaza City and other parts of the north from the south.
The first step of the plan is to transfer the estimated 300,000 Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza, then impose a full siege on the north to starve out remaining Hamas fighters and other Palestinians who remain. Northern Gaza would be declared a “closed military zone,” meaning anyone who remains will be targeted by the IDF.
Since Israel has bombed so-called “safe zones” throughout the war and the tent camps in the south are already extremely overcrowded, many Palestinian civilians are expected to ignore the new evacuation order. According to Al Jazeera, some Palestinians have started to head south, but Palestinian authorities are calling on civilians to ignore the Israeli evacuation order.
“Israeli claims about the presence of safe zones in southern Gaza are lies as Israel commits crimes and massacres in all areas of the enclave,” Gaza’s Interior Ministry said. “We call on citizens in northern Gaza to ignore Israeli threats.”
Israeli forces are currently focusing their renewed assault in northern Gaza on the Jabalia refugee camp and have sent tanks into the area for the first time in months. At least 17 people, including nine children, were killed by Israeli attacks on Jabalia overnight Saturday into Sunday.
The Israeli military said it has surrounded Jabalia, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad said its fighters have targeted Israeli troops attempting to penetrate the camp.
Under the general’s plan, once Israel kills and starves the remaining Palestinians in northern Gaza, it can use the same tactics in other areas of the Strip. Israel’s assault on Lebanon and the looming Israeli attack on Iran has taken much of the world’s attention away from the genocidal war in Gaza, giving Netanyahu an opportunity to enact the ethnic cleansing plan with less global scrutiny.
The Israeli takeover of northern Gaza could pave the way for Jewish settlements in the area, an idea supported by many Israeli ministers and Knesset members.
