Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly confirmed that he is considering a plan, conceived by a group of retired generals, to force all Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, in order to lay siege to Hamas and force the release of hostages. Cciting Hebrew language media, Times of Israel reported overnight that Netanyahu indicated at a cabinet meeting that the plan for a siege on remaining Hamas forces is one of several being examined and which will be brought to the cabinet for further discussion in the coming days.
CNN yesterday reported that it is unclear how many Palestinians remain north of the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which splits Gaza in two, but estimates run into the hundreds of thousands. The plan does not mention whether, when, or how civilians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza. After nearly a year of war, with no part of Gaza immune from Israeli airstrikes, Palestinians have been increasingly unwilling to heed Israeli demands to relocate.
The group of retired generals are reported to have presented it to the Israeli cabinet and a powerful parliamentary committee. The goal, they say, is to use siege tactics to starve Hamas fighters and force them to release 101 hostages still held in the territory.
“Those who leave will receive food and water,” Giora Eiland, a retired general who is spearheading the proposal, says in a slickly produced 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.”
CNN adds several endorsements of the plan, including from a member of Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, but no dissent.
