Amid the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza, a new Israeli strategy emerged that aims to starve Gaza civilians, leading to the surrender of Hamas.
The Generals' Plan is not merely a conventional military strategy; it is a dramatic scenario aimed at exerting unprecedented pressure on the Gaza Strip to force Hamas into surrender by choking off northern Gaza and pressuring civilians to either evacuate or face an uncertain fate.
The plan started with urging civilians to displace their houses toward the south of Wadi Gaza, which has become a dividing line since the onset of the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza last October.
Based on the plan, any civilian choosing to remain in the north will be considered a combatant, allowing Israeli forces to target them under military regulations. The Israeli occupation forces imposed a complete blockade on essential resources like water, food, medicine, and fuel, intending to suffocate the civilians as well as the resistance.
The plan also seeks to establish long-term control over northern Gaza, effectively splitting Gaza into two regions, intending to create a new administration free of Hamas.
Israel has fully implemented the plan since the beginning of October of this year. Evidence suggests that this strategy noticeably influences the field tactics being deployed by Israeli occupation forces.
While the northern parts of Gaza have become a living hell, the southern areas, labeled as "safe corridors" by the Israeli occupation forces, are not much better and still subject to daily bombardment. The plan is being implemented as all major crossings into northern Gaza have been closed to aid movements since October 1, according to the UN World Food Programme.
It is worth noting that the occupation forces have completely besieged the Jabalia camp, isolating the areas of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and Jabalia from one another.
Israel has deliberately prevented relief and media organizations from entering these areas while evacuating the three leading hospitals there (the Indonesian, Al-Awda, and Kamal Adwan hospitals) amid a total blackout and water cut-off across all northern areas.
With or without implementing this plan, Israel further worked towards deteriorating the condition of civilians in Gaza by starving them until surrender. If the civilians did not die from starvation, they might be killed by the Israel-US bombs.
The northern areas are now home to around 400,000 people, most of whom are resolute in their decision to stay, sheltering amidst the rubble of their homes under unbearable humanitarian conditions and utter deprivation.
Dozens of bodies lie in the streets and beneath the ruins of their homes, remaining uncollected due to the occupation army's relentless targeting of medical and civil defense teams attempting rescue efforts.
The Generals' Plan introduces a perilous escalation, turning Gaza into a death trap where civilians face starvation, forced displacement, and relentless bombardment.
By restricting essential resources and targeting those who remain, the plan risks transforming the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe, where survival becomes nearly impossible.
This war crimes tactic of absolute deprivation endangers thousands of lives, creating a volatile environment with limited means of escape or relief.
Image caption: Palestinians walk past homes destroyed by the Israeli army in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip on February 22, 2024 [File: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa]