A Hebrew newspaper, Haaretz, has unveiled a document developed by the Forum of Generals and Veterans, spearheaded by retired General Giora Eiland, outlining a plan to eliminate Hamas in Gaza.
The document was submitted to ministers and cabinet members for discussion, approval, and to issue orders for the army to implement it without hesitation. According to Haaretz, this came after the killing of six prisoners in Rafah and the failure of the Israeli occupation to achieve its objectives in the war.
The document notes that despite the blows Hamas has suffered from Israeli military operations, it still has the capability to rebuild itself, recruit fighters, and acquire weapons. Additionally, Hamas maintains control over food distribution to the population and reasserts its presence in areas vacated by the army.
According to the document, the generals believe that in order to prevent Hamas from rebuilding and regaining control, four key steps are necessary: cutting off funding, destroying Hamas’ ability to recruit new members, disrupting supply lines, and eliminating the incentives to continue fighting and governing.
The document emphasizes that as long as Hamas controls humanitarian aid, it cannot be defeated.
According to General Eiland, who drafted the document, the remaining 300,000 Gazans in the area north of the Nitsarim axis, including Gaza City, would be ordered to evacuate immediately through corridors provided and guarded by the army, following the displacement of the majority of the population to the south.
The document outlines that after a week of evacuation orders, a military siege would be imposed, leaving those who remain with no means of survival. Those left behind, deemed members of Hamas, would face a stark choice: surrender or death.
General Eiland stressed that starvation until death is the ultimate strategy. He pointed to the success of the first phase of the operation in November 2023, during which Israel allowed only two buses of aid into the Gaza Strip daily.
The document’s authors assert that Hamas fears nothing more than an alternative government and a population enraged by starvation.
Eiland, a former head of the Operations Division and National Security Council, further claimed that the plan does not violate international law, as it allows the population to evacuate before the siege is fully imposed.
General Hezi Nahama, head of the Generals’ Forum, described the plan as a guaranteed recipe for defeating Hamas, asserting that it should have been implemented months ago. He referenced Defense Minister Gallant’s failed experimental project aimed at the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City six months ago.
The document criticizes Defense Minister Gallant and Chief of Staff Halevi, accusing both of hesitance. It states, “Those who cannot implement the plan betray their duty and will not be able to lead the army and the state to victory over Hamas.”
Haaretz reported that the generals’ plan is putting pressure on the government, particularly the political-security cabinet, and appears to align with Netanyahu’s vision. It also provides Netanyahu with security credibility in his efforts to sideline military and security leaders, including the head of the Shin Bet and the defense minister.
The army had previously objected to Gallant’s plan to carry out a trial occupation project in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City about six months ago, and had called for the return of displaced people or some of them to northern Gaza. This was to avoid potential prosecution of military leaders by international criminal courts.
Following Netanyahu’s press conference on September 2, which garnered significant public support, Netanyahu ordered the army—disregarding the authority of the defense minister—to take responsibility for distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
The government had previously decided to appoint a general to oversee the distribution of “humanitarian aid,” a position parallel to the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank and the coordinator of government activities there.
This decision was intended to break Hamas’ grip on international aid, control its distribution, and create a local leadership alternative that is “not hostile to Israel.”
Netanyahu’s decision, according to the newspaper, signals the continuation of the occupation of Gaza regardless of the outcome of any deal or ceasefire.
The document reiterates that Israel’s strategic control over Gaza depends on dominating the Nitsarim axis, which bisects the Gaza Strip from north to south, contrary to Netanyahu’s claims about the existential importance of controlling the Salah al-Din/Philadelphia axis along the Egypt-Gaza border.
Haaretz explained that the implementation of the generals’ plan would ensure the continuation of Israel’s occupation, fundamentally altering the demographic map of Gaza. It also implies Israeli control over northern Gaza and the destruction of Gaza City, with Israeli settlements established in areas that would have been annexed by Israel.
The newspaper further pointed out that displacement, annexation, and settlement are now openly discussed in Israeli politics. This aligns with Foreign Minister Katz’s call for the displacement of Jenin’s residents, suggesting that displacement is becoming a broader project for Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.
With the potential re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, plans for annexation and displacement, including the idea of a substitute homeland in Jordan, are expected to resurface, according to the current Israeli government’s perspective.
The objections of Palestinians in Gaza to being displaced outside their homeland, along with Egypt’s firm stance against displacement through Sinai, have frozen the occupation project, but it remains a persistent goal within Israel’s ruling mentality and a significant portion of the opposition.
While such plans represent a dominant mindset in Israeli political circles, Haaretz noted that Israel may not have the capacity to implement them as long as the Palestinians’ will to resist remains strong, which plays a decisive role.
In conclusion, the generals’ plan to displace those remaining in northern Gaza and impose starvation until death represents the continuation of the war on Gaza with a more genocidal mindset and premeditated intent.
It is essential for Palestinian diplomacy to follow up on this document and file lawsuits with the International Criminal Court to prosecute those overseeing it and those behind them.
It should also be submitted to the International Court of Justice, which handles cases of genocide and the intent to commit genocide.
The newspaper concluded by affirming that the people of Palestine are the ultimate arbiters of their destiny, through their steadfastness and their rejection of any displacement or uprooting, regardless of the occupation’s schemes.
