Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly considering a controversial plan to forcibly remove all Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza, including Gaza City, as part of a broader strategy to isolate Hamas and secure the release of hostages.
The plan, proposed by a group of retired Israeli military generals, calls for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the area north of the Netzarim Corridor, which divides Gaza.
While the exact number of Palestinians still in the region is unclear, estimates suggest the figure could be in the hundreds of thousands.
The proposal does not specify if or when these civilians would be allowed to return.
The generals argue that by cutting off supplies and laying siege to the area, Israel can pressure Hamas into releasing the 101 hostages still held in the territory.
“Those who leave will receive food and water,” said retired Israeli general Giora Eiland, who is leading the proposal, in a video posted online earlier this month.
“But in a week the entire territory of the northern Gaza Strip will become military territory, and this military territory as far as we are concerned, no supplies will enter it.”
Netanyahu reportedly expressed support for the plan during a closed-door meeting with the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to a report by Israeli national broadcaster Kan, a CNN affiliate.
“It is one of the plans being considered, but there are several others,” Netanyahu said, according to Kan. “We are committed to dismantling the civilian control of Hamas.”
An Israeli official confirmed Netanyahu’s comments, adding that “seeing it positively does not mean adopting it.”
The official noted that the head of the Israel Defense Forces’ strategic division is expected to present Netanyahu with “several alternatives” on how to “deprive Hamas of civilian control capabilities in Gaza” in the coming days.
The proposal has gained some political support, with 27 Knesset members, including three current ministers, signing a letter urging the government to adopt the plan.
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The public face of the proposal, Giora Eiland, served as head of the prime minister’s National Security Council from 2004 to 2006 and has been a vocal advocate for the strategy.
“The reality today in Gaza is that Sinwar is not stressed,” Eiland said in the video. “The right thing to do is to inform the approximately 300,000 residents who remained in the northern Gaza Strip, citizen residents, of the following: Not that we are suggesting you leave the northern Gaza Strip, we are ordering you to leave the northern Gaza Strip.”
Eiland emphasized that after a week, the northern Gaza Strip would be declared military territory, and no supplies would be allowed in. “That is why 5,000 terrorists who are in this situation, they can either surrender or starve,” he said.
The plan, which has been championed by the Commanders and Reserve Fighters Forum, remains a subject of debate within the Israeli government. The stance of the Israel Defense Forces’ senior leadership on the proposal is still unclear.
When asked for comment, the IDF referred inquiries to the Prime Minister’s Office.
One of the plan’s supporters, Retired Major-General Gershon Hacohen, told CNN that the proposal does not address whether Palestinians could eventually return to northern Gaza.
“It will all depend on what will happen in the future,” Hacohen said. “But there is no indication in the plan that they will never be able to go back.”
The plan has been presented to the Israeli cabinet several times, though the Prime Minister’s Office has not confirmed whether those meetings took place.
In a meeting with the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Meirav Cohen, a Knesset member from the centrist Yesh Atid party, criticized the government for allowing aid trucks into Gaza.
“The only threat that they are facing is obesity,” she remarked during the meeting, which included Giora Eiland.
“Is this how we will bring our hostages back home? So I think that the plan that Giora and other commanders presented here is very smart. It sets clear rules. We have to implement it.”
In their letter to Netanyahu and other ministers, the 27 Knesset members argued that “we have not yet reached the finish line in any of the goals defined by the War Cabinet.”
They urged the government to implement Eiland’s plan in northern Gaza, suggesting it could then be expanded to other parts of the Gaza Strip.
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