Israel steps up military push on Gaza amid siege plan fears
GAZA CITY
An Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip killed a family of eight, and Israeli forces waged air and ground campaigns in the territory's north, with Palestinians fearing Israel intends to permanently depopulate the area.
Media reported that bodies rot in the streets in northern Gaza, where Israeli air and ground forces have been attacking Jabaliya, as the military said militants have regrouped.
Israel ordered the full evacuation of northern Gaza. The military confirmed that hospitals were included in the evacuation orders but said it had not set a specific timetable.
Fares Abu Hamza, an official with the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service, said there are a “large number of martyrs” still uncollected from the streets and under the rubble.
“We are unable to reach them,” he told The Associated Press, adding that street dogs are eating some of the remains.
Questions over 'The General's Plan'
With the large-scale siege in northern Gaza, Palestinians fear Israel intends to permanently depopulate the north to establish military bases or Jewish settlements there.
The offensive came weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly considered a plan to besiege northern Gaza, aiming to starve Hamas into releasing hostages by cutting off supplies.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began the operation after gathering intelligence that indicated "terrorist presence" and Hamas rebuilding efforts in Jabalya, a northern Gaza refugee camp. However, the current offensive is far more extensive, affecting areas beyond Jabalya.
While four sources told CNN that the Israeli cabinet has not officially approved the siege proposal put forward by retired General Giora Eiland, the operation resembles his publicly shared plan.
Eiland presented his proposal both in a video and privately to the Israeli cabinet and the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
A former senior military official, familiar with the government's security strategy but not directly involved in the decision-making, said the cabinet adopted "a version" of Eiland’s plan, which is now referred to as “The General’s Plan.”
Eiland himself confirmed to CNN that this claim is “quite true,” but highlighted significant differences between his proposal and what is being implemented.
His original plan involved evacuating all civilians from northern Gaza, including Gaza City, and cutting off all supplies to the area to force a reset in the conflict and disrupt Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s strategy.
No food since Oct 1
The United Nations food agency said that no food aid had entered northern Gaza since Oct. 1.
The World Food Program said that the primary border crossing into the war-ravaged area had been closed for about two weeks, warning that Israel’s ongoing ground operation has a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinians families there.
Concerns of a hunger crisis have risen in Gaza roughly a month after the U.N.’s independent investigator on the right to food accused Israel of carrying out a “starvation campaign” against Palestinians.
Meanwhile, major U.S. newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, reported that the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, had originally been planned for 2022 but was delayed as the group sought support from Iran and Hezbollah.
