Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that “the generals’ plan by retired Major General Giora Eiland is before us, and it is logical,” Israeli state broadcaster KAN reported on Sunday.
The plan, which KAN reported that senior IDF officials were considering earlier this month, would see the northern Gaza Strip turned into a military area.
“It’s one of the plans being considered, but there are a few more.” Netanyahu said, “We are committed to dismantling Hamas’s civilian control.”
In the same discussion, Netanyahu also revealed that half of the hostages held captive in Gaza are alive, KAN noted.
In Eiland’s plan, which the prime minister believed would lead to Hamas’s defeat, the IDF would evacuate more than 300,000 Gazans from the northern Gaza Strip, turning the entire northern area into a territory under complete Israeli military control.
Eiland’s plan
According to CNN, Gazans have become unwilling to heed Israeli calls to relocate as the war approaches the one-year mark.
CNN reported that Eiland’s plan would employ ‘siege tactics’ to starve Hamas fighters, forcing them to release any hostages still held in the territory.
“Those who leave will receive food and water,” Giora Eiland said in a video posted online earlier this month. “But in a week, the entire territory of the northern Gaza Strip will become a military territory, and as far as we are concerned, no supplies will enter it.”
Approximately 5,000 Hamas terrorists remain in the area, as estimated in a report by Reuters.
Eiland, who served as the head of the IDF’s Operations Division, claimed that taking control of the area would turn Gazans against Hamas. According to him, this would be “Sinwar’s biggest nightmare,” leading to an expedited hostage deal and accelerating Hamas’ defeat.
An Israeli official confirmed the plan to CNN, saying, “Seeing it positively does not mean adopting it.”
In a letter obtained by CNN, 27 members of Knesset have urged the government to adopt this plan.
The northern border
Regarding escalation along the northern border, Netanyahu said, “Now the (Iranian-led) axis sees us differently. It’s preferable without a full-scale war, but we need to distance them.”
MK Ze’ev Elkin of the National Unity Party replied, “If the opportunity isn’t seized now, we’ll deteriorate into a full-scale war under less favorable conditions.”
According to KAN, Netanyahu refused to commit to not firing Gallant, saying, “I don’t want to get into politics,” receiving backlash from other MKs.
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