A plan to place all of northern Gaza under direct military control and evacuate over 300,000 civilians in order to lay siege to Hamas is currently under consideration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Sunday, KAN reported.
The plan, put forward by retired IDF Maj.-Gen. Giora Eiland and backed by the Commanders and Reserve Fighters Forum, "makes sense," Netanyahu said, though adding that no decision has been made yet.
"It is one of the plans being considered, but there are a several others,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by KAN.
Giora's plan would see the northern Gaza Strip turned into a closed military area that would lay siege to the few thousand Hamas terrorists still there, and was first revealed by the retired general in a video shared online earlier in September. Northern Gaza in this context refers to the entirety of the Gaza Strip to the north of the Netzarim Corridor, an area already under IDF control. This includes the major Gazan cities of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Jabalya, and the capital Gaza City.
According to CNN, the goal of the plan would be to see Hamas surrender and free the remaining hostages.
Currently, 101 people still remain in Gaza as hostages. Of those, over half are thought to be alive, KAN cited Netanyahu as saying.
In the same discussion, Netanyahu also revealed that half of the hostages held captive in Gaza are alive, KAN noted.
What is Giora Eiland's plan to have the IDF close off northern Gaza?
In a video detailing the plan, Eiland explained that the nearly 300,000 Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza would be ordered to leave. A week after that announcement would be made, the IDF would take control of all of northern Gaza, cutting off all humanitarian supplies from entering.
The target of this plan are the Hamas terrorists who are in the area, who according to Reuters number as much as 5,000. The IDF would essentially be laying siege to them, with Eiland claiming Hamas would have only two options: "surrender or starve."
Should this plan succeed, its backers note, it will be possible to use it again in other parts of Gaza.
An outline of the plan shared online further noted that the plan is in full cooperation with international law, which allows sieges and even starving enemy combatants to death so long as steps are taken to help civilians. The plan's drafters further cited the guidelines of the US Defense Department and a 2022 conference on sieges at Harvard University.
"A siege is the most effective way of ending wars quickly while reducing the number of casualties, both among our soldiers and civilians," the plan's outline states.
This would also place pressure on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who Eiland says does not fear military pressure. Rather, the only things he fears are an alternative government and "an angry mob" with the potential to overthrow him.
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's existence and details to CNN, but noted that it has not been adopted by the IDF, saying, "Seeing it positively does not mean adopting it."
In a letter obtained by CNN, 27 members of Knesset - including three ministers - have urged the government to adopt this plan.