Israel’s defence minister celebrates Gaza destruction
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has published a picture of the ruins of Gaza, saying, “After Rafah, Beit Hanoon”.
Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city that borders Egypt, has been almost entirely destroyed by the Israeli army. Beit Hanoon is a major city in the northern part of the enclave, which is now under heavy siege by Israeli forces.
Israeli authorities plan to displace most Palestinians from northern Gaza and force hundreds of thousands into a concentration camp that will be built on the ruins of Rafah.
Mass displacement of Palestinians by Israel goes back decades
Mass displacement of Palestinians is a continuation of a longstanding Israeli policy not just in the past 20 months of war but going back decades, according to Rami Khouri, a distinguished fellow at the American University of Beirut.
“Gaza was surrounded by the Israelis who laid siege to it many times, and hundreds of thousands of refugees were expelled in 1947 and 1948,” he told Al Jazeera.
He said the forcing of Palestinians towards other areas in “inhumane conditions” that is happening now is a “process that Zionism and the state of Israel have always been doing with British and American support”.
“They would like to get as many Palestinians possible out of Palestine in order to allow the Israeli state to expand and have more control.”
He also pointed out that Israel has mostly prevented aid from reaching Palestinians in Gaza, which shows that this is also “part of the genocide process” meant to drive people out of the enclave.
Transfer of Palestinians to concentration sites nothing new
As Israel announces its intention to gather the population of Gaza in a “humanitarian city” in southern Rafah, Middle East professor at the University of Turin, Lorenzo Kamel, told Al Jazeera that the expulsion of Palestinians from their land and their concentration in restricted areas is nothing new.
In 1948, 77 years ago to this day, 70,000 Palestinians were expelled from the village of Lydda during what became known as the “march of death”.
“Many of them ended up in the Gaza Strip,” Kamel said, adding that the Israeli authorities have been forcing Palestinians into spaces similar to concentration camps for decades.
“This is not something new but it has accelerated in the past months,” he said. The plan to gather the Gaza population on the ruins of Rafah is therefore “nothing but another camp in preparation for the deportation from the Gaza Strip”.
Israeli plans for southern Rafah amount to ‘transfer camps’
Israel’s plans for its so-called “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza is “very clear to any one that is willing to see it”, says an academic.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Lorenzo Kamel, Middle East professor at the University of Turin, said the proposal had nothing to do with humanitarian goals, but amounted to “transfer camps in preparation for the deportation south of the Gaza Strip”.
He said it appeared that any Palestinian who refused to enter the zone would be considered a legitimate target by Israel forces. “In other words, those remaining will be most likely murdered.”
Gaza’s death toll rises
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 59 bodies were brought to hospitals across the enclave in the past 24 hours, nine of which were recovered from under the rubble. Medical sources confirmed to Al Jazeera that at least 71 people have been killed since dawn today.
At least 57,882 Palestinians have been killed and 138,095 wounded by Israeli attacks across Gaza since October 2023. Since March 18, when Israel broke the ceasefire reached with Hamas, at least 7,311 Palestinians have been killed and 26,054 wounded.
