The Israeli occupation army launched a new attack on the northern Gaza Strip and ordered all Palestinian civilians living in the north to head south, indicating that Israel may be implementing an ethnic cleansing plan reviewed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The plan, known as the “General’s Plan” because it was drawn up by retired IDF generals, according to American sources, would lead to the complete ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from areas of Gaza north of the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land controlled by the Israeli army that separates Gaza City and other parts of the north from the south.

"The general's plan" is being implemented, said Itzik Zuarit, a reporter for the Israeli public broadcaster Kan. "In the future, the entire northern part of the Gaza Strip will be cleansed according to the general's plan," Zuarit wrote on the X platform.

The first step of the plan is to remove the 300,000 Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza, then impose a complete blockade on the north to starve out the remaining Hamas fighters and other Palestinians who remain. Northern Gaza will be declared a “closed military zone,” meaning anyone who remains will be targeted by the IDF.

Since Israel has bombed so-called “safe areas” throughout the war and the tent camps in the south are already overcrowded, many Palestinian civilians are expected to ignore the new evacuation order. According to local media in Gaza, some Palestinians have begun heading south, but Palestinian authorities are urging civilians not to heed the Israeli evacuation order.

The Interior Ministry in Gaza said: "The Israeli claims about the existence of safe areas in southern Gaza are lies as Israel is committing crimes and massacres in all areas of the enclave. We call on the citizens of northern Gaza to ignore the Israeli threats."

Israeli forces are now focusing their renewed offensive in northern Gaza on the Jabaliya refugee camp, sending tanks into the area for the first time in months. At least 17 people, including nine children, were killed in Israeli attacks on Jabaliya overnight Saturday to Sunday. The Israeli military said it had surrounded Jabaliya, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said its fighters had targeted Israeli forces trying to breach the camp. Under the general’s plan, once Israel had killed and starved the remaining Palestinians in northern Gaza, it could use the same tactics elsewhere in the territory. Israel’s assault on Lebanon and its impending attack on Iran have distracted the world from the genocidal war in Gaza, giving Netanyahu the opportunity to implement his ethnic cleansing plan with less global scrutiny.

An Israeli takeover of northern Gaza could pave the way for Jewish settlements in the area, an idea supported by several Israeli ministers and Knesset members.