“Since we have already encircled northern Gaza for the past nine or 10 months, what we have to say is this: tell all the 300,000 residents (UN estimates 400,000) still living in northern Gaza that they must leave the area, and they should be given 10 days to leave through safe corridors that Israel will provide.
“And after this time, this entire territory will become a war zone. And all the people of Hamas anyway, whether they are fighters, some of them civilians … will have two options: surrender or starve. .”
Eiland wants Israel to close these areas if the evacuation corridors are closed. Any left behind will be treated as an enemy combatant. The area will be under siege and the army will block all supplies of food, water and other essential goods. He believes that the pressure will become unbearable and that what is left of Hamas will soon collapse, freeing the surviving hostages and giving Israel the victory it craves.
The UN’s World Food Program says the current offensive in Gaza is having a “catastrophic impact on the food security of thousands of Palestinian families.” The main crossings to northern Gaza, the report said, were closed and food aid had not entered the strip since October 1. Mobile kitchens and bakeries were forced to shut down due to airstrikes. The only functioning bakery in the north, supported by WFP, caught fire after an explosive ordnance hit it. The situation in the south is almost as dire.
It is not clear whether the IDF has partially or fully accepted the generals’ plan, but circumstantial evidence from what is being done in Gaza suggests that it is at least heavily influencing the tactics used against the population. The BBC gave the IDF a list of unanswered questions.
Ultranationalist extremists in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet want to replace Palestinians in northern Gaza with Jewish settlers. Among the many statements he made on the subject, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich said: “Our heroic fighters and soldiers are destroying the evil of Hamas and we are occupying the Gaza Strip… in truth, where there are no settlements, there is no security.”
