A retired Israeli general behind a controversial displacement plan admits that military action will not resolve the Gaza war.
A retired Israeli general who masterminded a plan for displacing Palestinians from northern Gaza believes that the military option is not the solution to ending Hamas’ rule in the besieged enclave, the Anadolu news agency reported citing Israeli media.
“Israel must declare its willingness to end the fighting in Gaza in exchange for the return of all captives,” Giora Eiland, a retired major general reserve, told Israeli Radio 94 FM on Tuesday, according to Anadolu.
Former National Security Council Chief, Major General Giora Eiland:
"Israel should declare its readiness to end the fighting in Gaza in exchange for the return of all hostages. Overthrowing Hamas cannot be achieved militarily, as this approach has proven ineffective. Continuing… pic.twitter.com/afsTeQpSWk
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 7, 2025
“The path to ending Hamas’ rule is not through the military solution, which has proven ineffective,” Eiland, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council, added.
He reportedly said continuing the Israeli war on Gaza would lead to the death of more captives and soldiers in the Palestinian enclave.
“Except for the dozens of soldiers who will die every year under military rule, Israel will not achieve anything,” he added.
Mastermind of ‘General’s Plan’
Eiland was the mastermind of the so-called General’s Plan, which calls for imposing a blockade on northern Gaza and forcibly displacing Palestinians from the area as part of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on the enclave.
According to Israeli military analysts, Israel has been practically implementing the plan since October 2024 without official recognition, Anadolu reported.
In an opinion piece for The Palestine Chronicle, author and analyst Jamal Kanj wrote that the General’s Plan “is not exclusively a military strategy but rather an orchestrated noncombatant action, euphemistically termed to mask its true intention: genocide and ethnic cleansing through starvation.”
“It calls first for the complete isolation of northern Gaza from the rest of the Gaza Strip. Second: compartmentalize northern Gaza into separate quarters and declare each section as a war zone forcing civilians to leave or become legitimate military targets,” Kanj added.
The Israeli army continued a large-scale ground offensive in northern Gaza since October 5, forcibly displacing thousands of Palestinians and preventing humanitarian aid including food, medicine and fuel from reaching the territory. The situation has left the remaining population on the verge of imminent famine.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Hamas proposes a full ceasefire deal:
🔹 Complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
🔹 Return of displaced Palestinians.
🔹 Civilian governance in Gaza.“All terms agreed; Netanyahu must decide,” said Ahmad Abd al-Hadi. Mediators await Israel’s response.#Gaza #Ceasefire #Palestine… pic.twitter.com/X2L04cvfQF
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 7, 2025
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,854 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,139 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Humanitarian Disaster
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
Palestinian medical staff in Gaza comfort a child while trying to treat him who lost his family in Israeli bombing. pic.twitter.com/xcPyCG1EwY
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 7, 2025
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(Anadolu, PC)
The real story is that ” Israel ” is too weak and ineffectual to defeat Hamas. They are limp, impotent. Hamas is still just as potent as they were pre-October 7th.