Israeli professor reflects on “Generals’ plan” to clear northern Gaza

By Roberto Cetera

While media attention has been focused on Lebanon and the confrontation with Iran, in recent days the Israeli army has resumed heavy bombardment of the northern Gaza Strip, causing numerous civilian casualties. This dire situation also raises concerns for the safety of the Christian community taking refuge in the Holy Family parish, now only a few kilometers from the advancing Israeli troops.

Some observers believe this is the beginning of the “Generals’ Plan” – a siege and forced evacuation strategy for northern Gaza, outlined by former Israeli general Giora Eiland in an interview with The Times of Israel already in April last year.

The plan was presented to the parliamentary foreign affairs and defense committee by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last September.

L’Osservatore Romano spoke with Professor Idan Landau from Tel Aviv University, who has studied and written about the problem in several Israeli publications.

Professor Landau, can you briefly explain what the “General Plan” entails?

The “Generals’ Plan” was published last September. Its goal is to empty northern Gaza of its population of around 300,000 – about a third of Gaza’s total population. In the first phase, the Israeli army would inform everyone in the area that they have a week to evacuate south via two humanitarian corridors. In the second phase, after this week, the entire area would be declared a “closed military zone.” Any remaining would be considered an enemy combatant and killed unless they surrendered. A total siege would then be imposed on the entire area, further isolating it and exacerbating the food and health crisis.

Professor General Eiland’s proposed plan was presented to the government in April last year and not fully approved. Why do you think it is being implemented now? What ongoing military actions would prove this?

My impression is that despite official denials, the Israeli military is implementing a version close to the original plan. Soldiers on the ground confirm this to reporters. Many civilians have been killed in recent days and the siege of northern Gaza is ongoing. Dozens of witnesses from the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia report unprecedented levels of destruction, entire neighborhoods razed to the ground and attacks on shelters to flush out those seeking protection. Massacres occur daily: On October 29, the Israeli Air Force heavily bombed densely populated buildings in Beit Lahia, killing 250 people, half of whom remain buried under the rubble. I don’t think there is any doubt that the plan has become operational. Parallel to the destruction, the IDF is pushing displaced people to the south. However, many resist crossing the Netzarim Corridor for fear that they may never return.

How many people are affected by the forced evacuation plan?

Before 5 October 2024 – the estimated start date of the operation – between 300,000 and 400,000 people lived in the enclave. Now there are about 100,000 left. However, the IDF is determined to leave no one behind. It is quite clear that all this has nothing to do with the stated intention of capturing the remaining Hamas leaders and destroying their bases; international humanitarian law does not permit such military operations.

The plan would involve not only military pressure but also the suspension of food, fuel, energy and water supplies. Wouldn’t this also be in conflict with international humanitarian law?

Allow me to object to your use of the conditional tense. It is not “would involve” but “involves”; not “would be in conflict” but “conflict”. For a month now, no food or water has entered northern Gaza, with limited supplies only allowed to the Kamal Adwan hospital. Every day, all UN agencies and humanitarian organizations report that the humanitarian situation is now catastrophic. I believe that there can be no doubt about the nature of this operation in terms of international humanitarian law, which is why the Israeli government tends to downplay its real extent.

So far, the Israeli government has not expressed a clear or definitive position on the future of Gaza. Do you think this operation establishes a future arrangement, at least for northern Gaza?

Yes. I think the ultimate goal is the resettlement of Israeli settlers – a return after the 2005 withdrawal ordered by then Prime Minister Sharon. The right-wing members of Netanyahu’s coalition make no secret of this, starting with Finance Minister Smotrich. This is obviously a project that would be implemented in stages. Through the continued presence of military personnel within Gaza’s perimeter and so-called “security zones,” small settlements would initially emerge, justified as a need for military control, and then grow into larger communities like those in the West Bank. However, I do not believe that such resettlement could work south of the Netzarim corridor, because two million Palestinians who have crowded into that open-air ghetto have nowhere else to go. In time, they will inevitably become a ticking time bomb of poverty, disease and dangerous, rising extremism.