Israel’s military said Saturday it is preparing to forcibly move Palestinians from Gaza City to the southern part of the enclave, as part of its broader plan to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, a move that has drawn widespread international criticism.
Army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed in a statement that starting Sunday, the army would resume allowing the entry of tents and shelter equipment for Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.
He alleged the supplies would be brought in “under the supervision of the United Nations and international relief agencies” through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza after “thorough inspections.” Neither the UN nor aid groups have issued immediate comment.
The announcement came a day after Israeli media, including public broadcaster KAN, reported that the army was preparing to accelerate its offensive aimed at capturing Gaza City. Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth said army forces received orders to get ready for a full-scale ground incursion, though not before September.
“The Israeli claims about providing civilians with tents are nothing but a blatant attempt to whitewash the crime of mass forced displacement it has been committing since the start of the genocide in Gaza,” Ismail Thawbteh, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, told Anadolu.
He warned that the area the Israeli army intends to designate for these tents to house the displaced civilians could become “a new blood trap,” similar to what happened in al-Mawasi area west of Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where more than 1.5 million people were herded in recent months.
“The forced displacement of civilians under occupation constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity under the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
Thawbteh said the planned transfer of civilians is part of a “systematic policy to empty Gaza of its residents and replace the right of voluntary and safe return with an imposed reality of tents and isolated areas.”
On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir approved what he called the “central idea” of Israel’s reoccupation plan, including an assault on the Zeitoun neighborhood in southern Gaza City, where the army’s 99th Division has already been deployed.
Last week, Israel’s Security Cabinet endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to fully reoccupy Gaza, triggering international outrage and domestic protests that warned it amounted to a “death sentence” for Israeli captives held in the enclave.
The plan envisions starting with the takeover of Gaza City by displacing nearly 1 million residents to the south, surrounding the city, and then carrying out raids into its neighborhoods. A second phase would involve retaking refugee camps in central Gaza, much of which has already been reduced to rubble.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal war in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing 61,900 Palestinians.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
CrossFireArabia
