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Netanyahu Mulls Plan to Empty N. Gaza 10/14 06:13
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is examining a
plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out
Hamas militants, a plan that, if implemented, could trap without food or water
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians unwilling or unable to leave their homes.
Israel has issued many evacuation orders for the north throughout the
yearlong war, the most recent of which was Sunday. The plan proposed to
Netanyahu and the Israeli parliament by a group of retired generals would
escalate the pressure, giving Palestinians a week to leave the northern third
of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, before declaring it a closed military
zone.
Those who remain would be considered combatants -- meaning military
regulations would allow troops to kill them -- and denied food, water, medicine
and fuel, according to a copy of the plan given to The Associated Press by its
chief architect, who says the plan is the only way to break Hamas in the north
and pressure it to release the remaining hostages.
The plan calls for Israel to maintain control over the north for an
indefinite period to attempt to create a new administration without Hamas,
splitting the Gaza Strip in two.
There has been no decision by the government to fully carry out the
so-called "Generals' Plan," and it is unclear how strongly it's being
considered.
When asked if the evacuation orders in northern Gaza marked the first stages
of the "Generals' Plan," Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani
said no.
"We have not received a plan like that," he said.
But one official with knowledge of the matter said parts of the plan are
already being implemented, without specifying which parts. A second official,
who is Israeli, said Netanyahu "had read and studied" the plan, "like many
plans that have reached him throughout the war," but didn't say whether any of
it had been adopted. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, because the
plan isn't supposed to be discussed publicly.
On Sunday, Israel launched an offensive against Hamas fighters in the
Jabaliya refugee camp north of the city. The amount of aid reaching the north
has declined significantly since Oct. 1, according to the U.N.
The U.S. State Department spokesperson has said Washington is against any
plan that would bring direct Israeli occupation in Gaza.
Human rights groups fear the plan's potential toll on civilians
Human rights groups say the plan would likely starve civilians and that it
flies in the face of international law, which prohibits using food as a weapon
and forcible transfers. Accusations that Israel is intentionally limiting food
to Gaza are central to the genocide case brought against it at the
International Court of Justice, charges Israel denies.
A coalition of Israeli NGOs on Monday urged the international community to
act, noting that "there are alarming signs that the Israeli military is
beginning to quietly implement" the plan.
"States have an obligation to prevent the crimes of starvation and forcible
transfer," they wrote, warning that continuing a "'wait and see' approach will
enable Israel to liquidate northern Gaza."
So far, very few Palestinians have heeded the latest evacuation order. Some
are older, sick or afraid to leave their homes, but many fear there's nowhere
safe to go and that they will never be allowed back. Israel has prevented those
who fled earlier in the war from returning.
"All Gazans are afraid of the plan," said Jomana Elkhalili, a 26-year-old
Palestinian aid worker for Oxfam living in Gaza City with her family.
"Still, they will not flee. They will not make the mistake again ... We know
the place there is not safe," she said, referring to southern Gaza, where most
of the population is huddled in dismal tent camps and airstrikes often hit
shelters. "That's why people in the north say it's better to die than to leave."
The plan has emerged as Hamas has shown enduring strength, firing rockets
into Tel Aviv and regrouping in areas after Israeli troops withdraw, bringing
repeated offensives.
After a year of devastating war with Hamas, Israel has far fewer ground
troops in Gaza than it did a few months ago and in recent weeks has turned its
attention to Hezbollah, launching an invasion of southern Lebanon. There is no
sign of progress on a cease-fire in either front.
Israel's offensive on the strip has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians,
according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between
civilians and combatants, but says more than half of the dead are women and
children.
People in northern Gaza could be forced to 'surrender or starve'
The Generals' Plan was presented to the parliament last month by a group of
retired generals and high-ranking officers, according to publicly available
minutes. Since then, officials from the prime minister's office called seeking
more details, according to its chief architect, Giora Eiland, a former head of
the National Security Council.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu told a closed parliamentary defense
committee session that he was considering the plan.
Eiland said the only way to stop Hamas and bring an end to the yearlong war
is to prevent its access to aid.
"They will either have to surrender or to starve," Eiland said. "It doesn't
necessarily mean that we're going to kill every person," he said. "It will not
be necessary. People will not be able to live there (the north). The water will
dry up."
He believes the siege could force Hamas to release some 100 Israeli hostages
still being held by the group since its Oct. 7 attack that triggered Israel's
campaign. At least 30 of the hostages are presumed dead.
Human rights groups are appalled.
"I'm most concerned by how the plan seems to say that if the population is
given a chance to evacuate and they don't, then somehow they all turn into
legitimate military targets, which is absolutely not the case," said Tania
Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli organization dedicated to
protecting Palestinians' right to move freely within Gaza.
The copy of the plan shared with the AP says that if the strategy is
successful in northern Gaza, it could then be replicated in other areas,
including tent camps further to the south sheltering hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians.
When asked about the plan Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson
Matthew Miller said the U.S. was going to "make absolutely clear that it's not
just the United States that opposes any occupation of Gaza, any reduction in
the size of Gaza, but it is the virtual unanimous opinion of the international
community."
In northern Gaza, aid has dried up and people are trapped
The north, including Gaza City, was the initial target of Israel's ground
offensive early in the war, when it first ordered everyone there to leave.
Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble since then.
About 80 trucks carrying aid have entered through crossings in Gaza's north
since Oct. 1, down from roughly 60 trucks a day previously, according to the
U.N. website tracking deliveries. A senior U.N. official said one small
shipment of fuel for hospitals has entered the north since Oct. 1. The official
spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.
COGAT, the Israeli body facilitating aid crossings into Gaza, denied that
crossings to the north have been closed, but didn't respond when asked how many
trucks have entered in recent days.
The U.N. official said that only about 100 Palestinians have fled the north
since Sunday.
"At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area," Philippe Lazzarini, head
of the U.N.'s agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on X Thursday. "With
almost no basic supplies available, hunger is spreading."
Troops have already cut off roads between Gaza City and areas further north,
making it difficult for people to flee, said two doctors in the far north --
Mohammed Salha, director of al-Awda Hospital, and Dr. Rana Soloh, at Kamal
Adwan Hospital.
"North Gaza is now divided into two parts," Soloh said. "There are
checkpoints and inspections, and not everyone can cross easily." ___
Melanie Lidman contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
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