Hidden Intentions: How the Israeli Occupation Implements the Generals’ Plan in Northern Gaza

For two weeks, the Israeli occupation forces have been carrying out a large-scale military operation in the northern Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths of more than hundreds of Palestinians, in conjunction with the cessation of the entry of aid, water and medicine into the area.

This attack comes weeks after a controversial proposal under the title ‘The Generals' Plan’ was submitted to the Israeli government, which aims to transform the entire area north of the Netzarim crossing in the center of the Strip (Gaza City and the north) into a closed military zone.

According to a report published by Yedioth Ahronoth, the Israeli army is now implementing a miniature version of the plan in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, especially after most of the camp's residents rejected forced displacement.

Haaretz pointed out hidden Israeli political intentions regarding the demand that the residents of the northern Gaza Strip move to the south, especially since the far-right parties and a large section of the Likud party interfere in decision-making.

The number of martyrs since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7 has risen to more than 42,438 Palestinians, in addition to the injury of more than 99,246 others, in an incomplete toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble.

Catastrophic Impact

This month, the Israeli occupation practically launched the second chapter of its war on Gaza, with the tightening of the siege on the north to force its residents to move south in preparation for the implementation of what is known as ‘The Generals' Plan’.

This step indicates the insistence of the Israeli occupation to move forward with the military option, and to move away from any political solution that ends the Gaza war.

It relies on implementing a policy of systematic destruction of buildings and forced displacement of civilians in the northern Gaza Strip, especially in the Jabalia camp, in light of the suffering of about 400 thousand citizens in the north from a strict siege, refusing to be displaced and leave their homes towards the southern Gaza Strip.

On October 6, the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation in Jabalia under the pretext of preventing Hamas from regaining its strength in the area, hours after the start of a fierce attack on the eastern and western areas of northern Gaza, the most violent since last May.

On October 7, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee posted a warning on his X account to the residents of the towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahia, asking them to evacuate and head to the southern Gaza Strip.

In turn, the Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza warned against responding to this, considering it a deception and a lie.

Earlier this month, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders to three major hospitals in northern Gaza, namely Kamal Adwan Hospital, Al-Awda Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital, otherwise they would be targeted.

Haaretz quoted three Israeli reserve soldiers stationed in the Strip as saying that their impression is that the Generals’ Plan is actually being implemented on the ground, even though the Israeli General Staff and the Southern Command have not officially adopted it.

If the Generals’ Plan is implemented, anyone remaining in the area sealed off by the Israeli army would be considered a combatant and could be killed.

On his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the Israeli army’s pressure on some 400,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip to displace them back south.

Since September 30, no food aid has entered the northern Gaza Strip, according to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA.

The World Food Program (WFP) warned that the ongoing Israeli ground operation is having a catastrophic impact on the food security of thousands of Palestinian families there.

Antoine Renard, head of the WFP in the Palestinian territories, said that the north is completely isolated and we are unable to work there.

The Generals' Plan

The new attack on the Jabalia camp comes as part of a military plan proposed by senior reserve officers in the Israeli army, which is being promoted in the media to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to implement it, coinciding with the first anniversary of the aggression on Gaza.

The Generals' Plan, which was formulated by senior reserve officers in the Israeli army, led by retired Major General Giora Eiland, former head of the Security Council, includes the expulsion of all residents of the northern region.

On September 4, the Commanders and Reserve Fighters Forum published the Generals' Plan, which involves turning the northern Gaza Strip, which includes the northern areas with Gaza City up to the Netzarim Corridor, into a closed military zone.

In addition to issuing evacuation orders to the Palestinian population, numbering about 400,000, to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip and head south through corridors determined by the Israeli army, within a period of up to a week.

As well as imposing a complete blockade on the area, preventing the arrival of aid, including basic needs, to the remaining residents.

The plan believes that cutting off the lifeline to those remaining in the northern Gaza Strip may contribute to pressuring Hamas, adding that if his plan is not implemented, the war's goals of eliminating Hamas and returning the hostages will not be achieved.

In an analysis, Haaretz newspaper saw that Netanyahu dreams of what his supporters might consider an achievement, represented by expanding the territory of “Israel” for the first time in many years, and that this would be his complete victory over the attack of October 7, 2023.

He pointed out that this stage began unofficially with the issuance of a decision to appoint retired Major General Giora Eiland as head of humanitarian and civilian efforts in Gaza, within the unit coordinating government operations in the territories.

Haaretz political analyst Amos Harel previously ruled out that the Israeli government would implement the Generals' Plan, and considered that it includes measures that amount to war crimes under international law.

Late last month, Israeli media revealed that Netanyahu and his Army Minister Yoav Gallant signed a study of the operations that could be carried out in Gaza based on that plan.

Reuters reported that Netanyahu described the plan as logical, and that it is one of several ideas under consideration to change the course of the war on Gaza.

In contrast, the Financial Times said that four Israeli human rights organizations, Gisha, B'Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights, and Yesh Din, considered that there were worrying signs that Israel had quietly begun implementing the Generals' Plan.

These organizations called on the international community to stop implementing the plan, noting that many civilians would not be able to leave the north, and even if they did, there would be no safe place to go in the Strip.

They also considered that this plan would plunge civilians into an unprecedented famine, and that its implementation would violate international law, which prohibits the use of starvation as a weapon.

A siege on northern Gaza is likely to lead to another round of court orders in the genocide proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and could increase the likelihood that the ICC would issue arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister and Army Minister.

Mr. Ismail Muslimani, an expert on Israeli affairs, confirmed in a statement to Al-Estiklal that “the Generals' Plan aims to resolve the confrontation in the Gaza Strip by evacuating several areas inside the Strip from Palestinians and actually settling them.”

“The plan has become semi-official but secret for fear of international reactions, especially after the failure of the Israeli occupation to achieve its public goals for its war on Gaza, which has begun to turn into a war of attrition, with the decline of its tools of pressure on Hamas,” he said.

Settlement Project

The start of the second chapter of the Israeli war on Gaza coincided with the Likud Party issuing an invitation on October 16 to its members, Knesset members, and ministers to tour Kibbutz Nir Am in the Gaza Envelope, under the title ‘Preparing Settle Gaza’.

According to analysts, the hidden goal of the generals’ plan, which has only been mentioned publicly in passing, is to cleanse the northern Gaza Strip of all Palestinian civilians.

These efforts are of great importance in relation to the future plans of the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip, especially in relation to the moves planned by the extreme right to ensure long-term occupation and renew the settlement project.

The Generals’ Plan is consistent with the vision of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other far-right politicians, who have been calling for such measures since the beginning of the Gaza war.

On January 28, 2024, a conference was held in Jerusalem with far-right ministers calling for the rebuilding of settlements in Gaza.

The conference organizers set up booths to inform the attendees of their plans for settlement in Gaza, and showed them pictures and maps showing what they see Gaza as looking like after the war.

Regardless of its military plans, “Israel” does not seem to have any desire to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and insists on keeping its forces there while creating buffer zones.

Despite the international community’s push for ideas that include the return of the Palestinian Authority to the Strip, Netanyahu rejects this, presenting proposals to end UNRWA’s presence and have the Israeli army supervise the transfer and distribution of aid inside the Strip.

In February 2024, media outlets revealed Netanyahu's plan for the day after in Gaza, which stipulates the establishment of a security zone within the Strip, specifically in the area adjacent to Israeli towns.

As for the southern area adjacent to the Egyptian border, Netanyahu wants to achieve what he describes as the southern closure on the border between Gaza and Egypt to prevent the rearmament of factions in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli reports.