A blueprint for Israel’s eradication of Gaza

By Nasim Ahmed Middle East Monitor

A chilling scenario detailing Israel’s plan to liquidate northern Gaza through starvation and extermination was revealed by +972 Magazine. Originally published in Hebrew by journalist Meron Rapoport, the Israeli magazine outlined a hypothetical operation that bears a striking resemblance to current events in Gaza. Presented as a simulation of Israel’s plan in 2025, the key elements of the extermination plan – from the motives for mass expulsion to specific military strategies – align disturbingly with the ongoing assault on Gaza.

Dubbed “Operation Order and Clean-up”, the plan in Rapoport’s scenario involves ordering the temporary evacuation of all Palestinian residents north of the Netzarim Corridor, ostensibly for their safety. However, the true intention, as openly declared by far-right ministers like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, is to impose a complete siege on the area, cutting off all supplies of water, food and fuel until those who remain surrender or die of starvation.

Disturbingly, signs are that the blueprint for Gaza’s extermination is already being implemented. This week, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that no food aid whatsoever has entered northern Gaza since 1 October, 2024. WFP has said it is unclear how long remaining food supplies in the north will last, as they have already been distributed to shelters and health facilities.

Rapoport’s scenario mirrors proposals from influential Israeli figures like Giora Eiland. Eiland’s plan, unveiled recently, calls for ordering all residents of northern Gaza to leave within a week, before imposing a total siege on the area. The plan explicitly states that those who remain would either surrender or die of starvation.

Referred to since as the “General’s plan,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also shared details of the proposal during a closed meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee at the end of last month. It was initiated by Eiland, who is described in Israel as a “strategist” of the Gaza war and is among those consulting with Netanyahu during Israel’s genocidal campaign.

Other influential figures who are said to be charting a course towards the extermination of Palestinians in Gaza include Professor Uzi Rabi, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University. In a radio interview on 15 September, Rabi reportedly suggested: “Remove the entire civilian population from the north, and whoever remains there will be lawfully sentenced as a terrorist and subjected to a process of starvation or extermination.”

Rapoport references several sources to argue that, while he is presenting a hypothetical scenario, any plan for Gaza’s eradication would closely resemble the actions Israel has been carrying out over the past year. A report in Ynet indicated that government ministers had been pressuring Netanyahu to “cleanse” northern Gaza of its inhabitants as early as August. Additionally, a proposal titled “From a murderous regime to a moderate society: The transformation and reconstruction of Gaza after Hamas”, authored by Israeli academics, was submitted to decision-makers. The study called for the “total defeat” of Hamas as a precondition for starting a process of “deradicalisation” of Palestinians in Gaza. The strategy paper recommends aid to be delivered only when areas have been “purged” of Hamas, a goal that is widely considered unrealistic.

Critics, including those generally supportive of Israel, have cast doubt on the feasibility of Israel’s stated goals of “total victory” and “purging” Hamas. They argue that Israel’s strategy of widespread destruction and indiscriminate killing is likely to backfire, fostering resentment and resistance among Palestinians for generations to come. Moreover, the tendency for Israeli officials and their supporters to blur the lines between combatants and civilians in Gaza provides a dangerous justification for what the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has deemed a plausible case of genocide.

Numerous statements from Israeli officials support this view. For instance, Israeli President Isaac Herzog implied that there were no innocent civilians in Gaza and attempted to justify attacks on civilians by claiming that the entire Gazan population was responsible for the 7 October attacks. Likewise, Rami Igra, a former Mossad director, argued that, due to Gazans voting for Hamas, there is: “No such thing as a non-combatant population in the Gaza Strip.”

The rhetoric justifying indiscriminate violence against Palestinians in Gaza has not been confined to Israeli officials. Prominent supporters of Israel abroad have echoed similar sentiments, blurring the distinction between combatants and civilians. In a particularly troubling example, Alan Dershowitz and Andrew Stein, writing for the New York Post, openly questioned the innocence of Gaza’s civilian population. They provocatively asked: “Just how many of Gaza’s civilians are entirely ‘innocent’?” and went further, challenging: “Who exactly are these ‘civilians’ and just how innocent are they?”

The scenario outlined in +972 Magazine exposes how the deliberate blurring of the distinction between civilians and combatants is integral for a plan to eradicate Gaza. The strategy, which effectively treats all Palestinians as legitimate targets, paves the way for Israel’s mass extermination policy. Far from being hypothetical, this approach mirrors actual practices in Gaza. An example cited by Rapoport comes from a commander of the Israeli Air Force’s drone squadron, who told Ynet in August about an operation in Nuseirat Camp: “Whoever did not flee, even if he was unarmed, as far as we were concerned, was a terrorist. Everyone we killed should have been killed.”

Speculating on what 2025 holds in store for Israel following a policy of mass extermination in Gaza, the article states that one of the consequences is likely to be the possible declarations of genocide by the ICJ and arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for Israeli leaders.

While the article presents this as a potential future scenario, it emphasises that the open discussion of plans to starve and exterminate hundreds of thousands of people demonstrates the current state of Israeli society. Rapoport warns that despite potential obstacles, including international pressure and domestic opposition, the scenario is not far-fetched given the accelerated process of dehumanisation towards Palestinians in Israeli society since 7 October.

The author concludes by stating: “And regardless of what happens over the coming months, the very fact that open proposals to starve and exterminate hundreds of thousands of people are up for debate demonstrates precisely where Israeli society stands today.”