Israeli ground forces are nearing a “complete evacuation” of northern Gaza, and residents will not be permitted to return to their homes, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated, marking what appears to be Israel’s first official acknowledgment of systematically removing Palestinians from the area.
In a media briefing, IDF Brigadier General Itzik Cohen told Israeli journalists that since troops were forced to enter some areas twice, like the Jabalia Camp, “there is no intention to allow the residents of northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes.”
He added that humanitarian aid would be permitted to “regularly” enter the southern part of the territory but not the north, as “there are no longer any civilians” there.
International humanitarian law experts stated that such actions could constitute war crimes of forced displacement and the use of food as a weapon.
The Israeli military and government have repeatedly denied that they are attempting to force the remaining northern Gaza population to flee to the relative safety of the south amid a month-long renewed offensive and intensified siege. Residents still holding out in the north have said that the new operation has created the war’s most dire conditions to date. Israel has argued that this pressure is necessary to combat regrouped Hamas cells.
Human rights groups and humanitarian agencies claimed that despite denials, it appears that Israel is implementing a version of the so-called “general’s plan,” which involves giving civilians a deadline to leave and then treating anyone remaining as combatants.
It is unclear how many people remain in northern Gaza; last month, the United Nations (UN) estimated that around 400.000 civilians were either unable or unwilling to follow Israel’s evacuation orders. On Wednesday, social media footage showed waves of dozens of displaced people carrying children and backpacks and walking southward through devastated areas of Gaza City.
Many had not eaten for days, Huda Abu Laila stated. “We came barefoot. We have no sandals, no clothes, nothing. We have no money. No food or water,” she said.
At least 15 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the northern town of Beit Lahia on Wednesday, though communication challenges meant no official report of the strike was issued by Gaza’s health ministry. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the struggling Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, released a video of patients fleeing the upper floors of the building as it was struck by artillery fire.
Israel divided the territory into two parts earlier this year, creating what it calls the Netzarim corridor, separating what was once the densely populated Gaza City from the rest of the Strip. In Tuesday’s briefing, Cohen also confirmed that northern Gaza had been further split to separate Gaza City from the more rural northern areas.
Resettling or permanently reoccupying Gaza is not Israel’s official policy, but senior Israeli defense officials recently told Israeli media that, lacking other alternatives on the table, the government aims to annex large parts of the territory.
