Dr. Eada Hecht of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (Besa), an Israeli think tank specializing in national security and foreign policy, agreed that the data showed a new dividing line, but questioned whether it was intended to be permanent.
“There is a new corridor that separates Gaza City and the northern cities of the Gaza Strip. The goal is to deprive the forces of Hamas and other organizations that have returned to the area of support and the ability to retreat so that they can be more effectively dealt with.”
Israel denies that it is implementing a “master plan”. According to a strategy devised by former general Giorra Eiland, civilians were ordered to leave the north, supplies would be blocked and the area would become a war zone. Those who remain will be treated as combatants and will be confronted the choice of “surrender or starve”in order to pressure Hamas to release the hostages.
In a statement to the BBC, an IDF spokesman said: “The IDF is acting in accordance with well-established military plans and the claim that the IDF is implementing this particular plan is incorrect.”
But concerns have grown over the safety of thousands of Palestinian civilians who remain in besieged towns in northern Gaza.
The UN and humanitarian organizations have expressed considerable concern about the situation in northern Gaza. While thousands of people have been displaced, the UN says to 60 thousand people could stay in the district.
The UN also says that for 50 days, “virtually no aid” has arrived in the Northern Gaza Governorate. The spokesman said Palestinians faced “critical shortages of supplies and services, as well as severe overcrowding and poor sanitation” due to the blockade.
Earlier this month, a UN-backed assessment said there was a high likelihood of that happening famine was inevitable in the surrounded areas northern Gaza.
A BBC analysis shows that around 90% of northern Gaza has been evacuated since early October. Videos posted on social media showed people being relocated south of the new barrier. It is unclear if and when they will be able to return, but Israel’s foreign minister insists that civilians will be allowed to return after the war.
Satellite images show the movement of people in northern Gaza. Large groups of tents set up as temporary shelter are disappearing. Ruined buildings and other examples of military activity are often found in the remaining area.
