Israeli Forces Declare Plan for Ethnic Cleansing of Northern Gaza
Israeli forces have announced their intention to block any Palestinians from returning to north Gaza.
A displaced Palestinian child fleeing Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, walks on Gaza’s main Salah al-Din road on the outskirts of Gaza City, on November 5, 2024. OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
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Israeli forces reportedly announced a plan this week for the total ethnic cleansing of a section of northern Gaza they have designated as a target, declaring, without evidence, that any Palestinians left there are not civilians.
According to Israeli media sources, the Israeli military announced Tuesday that they have completed their “division of the northern Gaza Strip into two parts,” and that they are prepared to clear the northernmost part of all Palestinians.
“This time there is no intention to allow the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes and that humanitarian aid will regularly enter the southern Gaza Strip — since there are no more civilians left north of Gaza City,” the Israeli military said, according to Israel’s broadcasting corporation’s Amichai Stein.
The announcement appears to be the next step of the “Generals’ Plan,” an Israeli roadmap to empty north Gaza of all Palestinians through mass killing, starvation and forced displacement in order to potentially annex the besieged territory.
As many advocates for Palestinian rights have pointed out, blocking residents from returning to their homes is ethnic cleansing and a violation of international law regarding forcible mass transfers. Analysts have said that infrastructure created by Israeli forces amid the genocide has also projected the intention to carry out this plan.
Gallant is a staunch supporter of Israel’s genocide, but has butted heads with Netanyahu at points.By Sharon Zhang , TRUTHOUT, November 5, 2024
The announcement serves as a threat toward families who are still in north Gaza, many of whom have been effectively trapped by Israel’s ceaseless bombardments and attacks in the region. The UN has estimated that roughly 100,000 people remain in north Gaza. In declaring, with absolutely zero evidence, that there are no civilians left, the army is effectively saying that all Palestinians are a legitimate target.
Israel has already intensified its horrific attacks on north Gaza in the past month, killing at least 1,300 people in the small region over the course of the last few weeks. It has repeatedly sieged Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last partially operational hospital in the region, imprisoning some of the only medical workers left to treat those injured in attacks and killing patients, including newborn babies, in bombings.
Many attacks are going unreported because the Israeli military has also relentlessly targeted journalists in the region, killing anyone broadcasting Israel’s atrocities to the world.
Israeli occupation forces kidnapped men from north Gaza, blindfolded them, numbered them, executed many, and kidnapped the rest to unknown locations. pic.twitter.com/X6UANwGFnP
Meanwhile, the UN reports that Israeli forces have blocked all food and nearly all other aid from entering north Gaza amid the raid, creating a famine that threatens to kill every Palestinian not directly targeted by Israeli soldiers.
The military’s announcement came on election day in the U.S., the primary foreign sponsor of the genocide.
“While people are watching the U.S. elections, we in North Gaza can hear heavy shelling and U.S.-sponsored bombs being dropped on us,” wrote Al Jazeera’s Hossam Shabat, one of the only journalists left in north Gaza. “Remember, whoever wins, they are all war criminals.”
Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labor. Before coming to Truthout, Sharon had written stories for Pacific Standard, The New Republic, and more. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter: @zhang_sharon.
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