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Israel plans to take over 75% of Gaza in two months, civilians to be relocated: Report
Gaza’s population would be relocated to three zones covering 25% of the Gaza Strip, southern Mawasi, central Gaza, and Gaza City in the north.
Israel is aiming to take control of 75 per cent of the Gaza Strip as part of an expanding military offensive, with plans to relocate the enclave’s 2 million residents into three designated areas, Bloomberg reported, citing Israeli media.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the 10-day-old operation, codenamed Gideon’s Chariots, is intended to defeat Hamas and secure the release of hostages held by the Iran-backed group.
“All of Gaza will eventually be taken over by Israeli forces,” Netanyahu has said, though he has not detailed any post-war plans for the territory.
Under the reported strategy, the entire population of Gaza, an area covering just 226 square kilometers (141 square miles), would be moved into three zones comprising 25 per cent of the strip. These include the southern Mawasi region, central Gaza, and Gaza City in the north.
The Israeli military has not formally confirmed the reports. It said that its troops and tanks currently control about 40 per cent of Gaza.
Trump says US pressing Israel to end Gaza war swiftly
As Israel expands its operations, US President Donald Trump said he wants to see the war brought to an end swiftly. “Israel, we’ve been talking to them, and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.
In parallel with the military campaign, Israel is also launching a US-backed aid-distribution initiative aimed at providing food to roughly half of Gaza’s civilian population. The country has faced mounting international criticism over a blockade that has restricted humanitarian aid since early March.
The blockade was imposed after a truce with Hamas expired, triggering warnings from aid agencies about looming starvation. Diplomatic efforts by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to broker a renewed ceasefire and secure the release of hostages have so far failed.
Although humanitarian deliveries have recently begun to resume, the aid rollout has been overshadowed by the resignation of Jake Wood, executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a Swiss-based nonprofit supported by the US and Israel.
“It is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon,” Wood said in a statement on Sunday.
In a follow-up statement, the GHF said its aid trucks “are loaded and ready to go” and reaffirmed its intention to begin distribution in Gaza on Monday, with the goal of reaching “over one million Palestinians by the end of the week.”
The war began after Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union, launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
In the months since, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have also been killed in the conflict.
With Bloomberg inputs
