Understand what ‘Carriages of Gideon’ is, Israel’s controversial plan for Gaza

Israel approves plan to occupy Gaza and transfer Palestinians to restricted area in the south, causing criticism of humanitarian groups and international tensions

The Israeli army is planning to take full control of the Gaza Strip, to displace the entire population to a small land area in the south and provide the Palestinians only enough food so that they do not starve, as part of an expanded military operation that was threateningly called “Gideon Carriages”. Israel’s Security Office approved the plan unanimously last Monday (4), hours after the country’s military say that they were strengthening their ability to operate in the besieged Palestinian territory, mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists.

The plan, whose aspects are already being implemented, will come into force in full if an agreement on the release of Israeli prisoners has been reached by Hamas until the end of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week, the Israeli media said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes, confirmed the plan on a video on social networks after the cabinet meeting.

“The population [de Gaza] It will be transferred, ”said Netanyahu in a X -posted video message, adding that Israeli soldiers will not enter Gaza, will launch attacks and then retreat.

One thing will be clear: there will be no entry and exit. We will call reservations to defend the territory – we will not enter and leave the area just to make raids later.

“This is not the plan. The intention is the opposite of this.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly referred to his plan as the “final stage” of war, despite the growing criticism of human aid groups and human rights that hunger is plaguing the entire population.

Since resumed his offensive on March 18, after denying a ceasefire agreement, Israel has refused to allow any help in the besieged enclave.

Israeli authorities, including Netanyahu, have defended free tactics and destruction, claiming that military pressure is the only way to ensure the release of the 59 prisoners who are still arrested in Gaza.

According to several reports from the Israeli media, Israeli forces will occupy the entire Gaza Strip and expel the Palestinian population to a new area that will be built in the southwest, an area between the Morag axis and the Philadelphia corridor.

The new area will be isolated from the coast and delimited to the east by a constant protection zone that Israel established along the barrier between Gaza and Israel, according to a map published by Israel’s Kan 11 channel.

According to Israeli news site Ynet, the plan “Carriages of Gideon” – appointed in honor of Gideon, a biblical warrior who led a few hundred combatants in the annihilation of the Arabian Midianites – will be performed in three stages.

They were called “preparation” stage, “population mobilization” stage and “terrestrial maneuver” stage.

According to Ynet, the “preparations” phase began a few weeks ago, when the Israeli military began to destroy all critical infrastructure in the southern district of Rafah, including residential buildings.

As part of this phase, which will last until Trump’s visit to the Middle East on May 16, the Israeli army will conclude “the preparations in the Rafah area for the long stay of almost two million inhabitants of Gaza who will arrive there during the second phase.”

As a result, Rafah will become a “sterile” area where Palestinians can only enter after being checked by security forces.

“O IDF [exército israelense]in cooperation with Shin Bet [agência de segurança interna de Israel]will set up control posts on the main roads that will lead to the areas where Gaza’s civilians will be housed in the Rafah area, ”says the report.

In the new area, which Israel nicknamed “humanitarian zone”, several aid distribution points will be created, where private American security companies will also take care of the distribution of help.

According to reports, Israeli soldiers will protect the area and only 60 food trucks can enter the range a day-only one tenth of the volume allowed during ceasefire.

‘Intense fire’

In the second stage of “population mobilization”, the Israeli army will employ “intense fire” throughout the enclave and will require all Palestinians to leave their homes and go to the new place in Rafah.

According to Ynet, the second phase has two goals: “Create pressure on Hamas to stop combat and bring many residents of Gaza from border crossings near Egypt and Israel and the beach,” in order to encourage the Palestinians to “voluntarily leave” Gaza’s track, “and thus fulfill Trump’s plan.”

Earlier this year, Trump proposed his controversial and widely rejected plan to “simply clean” Gaza, with the US president demanding that Egypt and Jordan would welcome Palestinians.

According to Ynet, Israel is already negotiating with several countries to host Palestinians who will be deported as part of the plan.

According to the Israeli news agency, the supply of humanitarian aid will also be resumed at this stage, but will be distributed only in the new area in the south.

“The help will be much smaller in scope than it was until it was completely interrupted,” the report said, referring to the amount of humanitarian aid that arrived before Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in early March.

The population that will reach the humanitarian complex “will receive all the essential needs,” he added.

According to an Israeli army radio report, the aid will be distributed only once a week and will be given to a representative of each family.

“A representative of each Gaza family can go to the distribution centers and receive help in a measure only for your family,” says the report.

The Israeli army estimates that an average Palestinian family consumes about 70 kg of food per week. Therefore, “each member of a Gaza family will receive exactly enough to avoid a hunger situation.”

According to UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA, 92% of children from six months to two years – and their mothers – are not receiving the minimum nutrition needed, while 65% of the Gaza population does not have access to drinking water.

Conquering the Gaza Strip

According to Ynet, as sick and injured Palestinians are removed from the enclave, the Israeli army will start the third phase, which, according to military estimates, can take several months, where a large -scale maneuver is expected.

The purpose of this phase is to win the Gaza Strip and stay in the places occupied for a long time.

As part of this phase, the Israeli army will “act systematically to destroy the structures that could serve as combat coverage for Hamas and will work to expose and destroy the tunnels that could be used by the terrorist organization in a surprise guerrilla against land forces,” the report said.

On Monday night, Israeli Army spokesman, Effie Defie Brigadier General, said the offensive “will include a large-scale attack and the movement of the majority of the track population.”

“This is to protect them in a sterile area of ​​Hamas and continuous air attacks, elimination of terrorists and infrastructure dismantling,” he added.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who also supported the plan, said: “Israel will strive to keep the areas that were clean and attached to the safety zone beyond the March lines.”

Katz added that “in any temporary or permanent agreement, Israel will not leave the security zone around Gaza, which aims to protect cities [israelenses] and prevent smuggling weapons to Hamas. ”

If Israel and Hamas do not reach an agreement on another agreement, “the voluntary emigration plan for the residents of Gaza, especially residents who will be concentrated in the South [no complexo de Rafah]Out of control of Hamas will be part of the operation’s objectives, ”said Katz.

Israel’s far -right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is part of the security office and has a significant influence on Netanyahu, which depends on his support to prevent government collapse, also welcomed the plan.

“As soon as we conquer and remain, we can talk about sovereignty [sobre Gaza]. But I didn’t require this to be included in the war goals, ”he said.

“As soon as the maneuver begins, there will be no removal of the territories we capture, not even in exchange for hostages,” he added.

“We could lose them”

Although Israel’s security office unanimously approved the plan, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned the ministers that Israel “could lose” prisoners if he launched a major operation in the track.

“In a plane for a large -scale maneuver, we will not necessarily reach hostages,” said Zamir, according to the agency. “Keep in mind that we can disappoint them.”

Zamir was also quoted by saying that the two goals of the war – defeating Hamas and rescuing prisoners – are “problematic about each other.”

The hostage and missing families forum, the main organization of hostage families, argues this for a long time, but political leaders, including Netanyahu, have repeatedly stated that military pressure is the only way to ensure the release of hostages.

“The chief’s warning should keep all the awake Israelis at night,” said the forum.

“The overwhelming majority of the nation is united around the understanding that an Israeli victory cannot be achieved without bringing hostages home. Losing hostages would mean an Israeli defeat. National security and social stability depend on the return of all hostages – even the last.”

Nevertheless, Smotrich argued on Monday that victory will only be announced when “Gaza is completely destroyed, its citizens are concentrated south of the Morag axis and start leaving large numbers to third countries.”

International help agencies, including those who work in the busy Palestinian territories, rejected Israel’s plan to distribute help, saying that it seemed “designed to reinforce control over life essentials” and would not ensure that help reaching the most vulnerable residents of Gaza.

“The UN Secretary-General and the Emergency Assistance Coordinator made it clear that we will not participate in any scheme that does not respect the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” the groups said in a joint statement.

On Friday, Amnesty International asked Israel to end the siege of Gaza, which called “a genocidal act, a blatant form of illegal collective punishment and the crime of war to use civilian hunger as a method of war.”

To date, the war of Israel has killed at least 52,615 Palestinians and injured 118,752, the vast majority of whom are women, children and the elderly.

With information from Middle East Eye*