Operation "Hamas Hunger to Kill"...Netanyahu considers suspending relief in northern Gaza

Source: Yonhap News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a plan to suspend aid to prevent Hamas from rebuilding in northern Gaza, the Associated Press reported on the 13th.

A group of retired Israeli military generals recently proposed to Netanyahu and the Knesset (parliament) to suspend aid to drive Hamas forces out of northern Gaza.Dubbed the

'General's Plan', the proposal calls for a weeks-long deadline for civilians staying in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, to stop providing food, water and aid.

Israeli forces can kill anyone who stays in northern Gaza without evacuating by the deadline, considering them Hamas militants and not subject to water and food, as well as fuel and medical aid.

The plan also includes Israel splitting Gaza into north and south, indefinitely controlling the northern part of the country and establishing a new administrative and governance system that excludes Hamas there.Former head of the National Security Council,
Eiland, expressed his belief that the only way to stop aid is to root out Hamas and end the war.

"They will either surrender or starve to death," he said. "We don't have to kill everyone," he said. "People will not be able to live in northern Gaza. The water will dry up," he said.Israel believes that the northern part of Gaza, including

Gaza City, has been used as a major Hamas fortress threatening the people of southern Israel.

After a surprise Hamas attack on October 7 last year, the Israeli military deployed ground forces to first attempt to remove Hamas forces from northern Gaza, and expanded the Hamas sweep to the southernmost part of Rafa, which borders Egypt.

But Hamas repeatedly reorganized where Israeli forces swept through, threatening them by confronting Israeli forces or firing rockets at southern Israel.

Each time, Israeli forces resumed military operations through airstrikes and troop deployments, saying they had detected signs of Hamas' reconstruction, leading to enormous civilian casualties.

It has not been confirmed how seriously the Israeli government is considering the "general's plan" to prevent this vicious cycle and let only Hamas members starve to death.

Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani also said on the 7th that he had "no such plan" when asked if the evacuation order issued in northern Gaza was the first step in implementing the plan.

But some Israeli officials have hinted that Netanyahu is considering it, or that some of the plans are already being implemented.

Part of the plan is being implemented, said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu has read and reviewed the plan," another Israeli official said, but did not say whether it had been adopted.

According to the website of the Civilian Cooperation Agency (COGAT), a private Palestinian business organization under the Israeli Ministry of Defense that manages the UN and Gaza relief activities, trucks carrying food, water and medicine have not entered northern Gaza since the 30th of last month.

The Israeli military also resumed its offensive on the Zabaliya refugee camp in Gaza City from the 13th, raising suspicions that Israel may be implementing the "general's plan."