The plan follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration of a new military operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban center in the region.

Netanyahu said the military has been authorized to dismantle the last two Hamas strongholds: Gaza City in the north and al-Mawasi in the south.

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Israel Prepares Forced Displacement of Palestinians to Southern Gaza
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Adinda Jasmine

August 17, 2025 | 06:00 pm

Displaced Palestinian children crowd to get meals from volunteers in Al-Mawasi, the southern Gaza Strip, on November 29, 2024. Doc. Shutterstock
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Israel has announced preparations to forcibly relocate Palestinian residents to the southern part of Gaza City starting Sunday, August 17, 2025.

The plan follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration of a new military operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban center in the region.

Netanyahu said the military has been authorized to dismantle the last two Hamas strongholds: Gaza City in the north and al-Mawasi in the south.

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on Saturday, August 16, that the displaced residents will be provided with tents and supplies. He said the aid will be delivered through the Karem Abu Salem or Kerem Shalom crossing by the United Nations and international aid groups.

The UN has not commented on the plan or its role in it, but previously warned that the evacuation could worsen the already dire conditions faced by thousands of families in Gaza City.

The Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas, condemned Israel’s move, calling it part of a brutal campaign to seize Gaza City and a blatant violation of international law.

“Forcing people to flee amidst starvation, massacres, and displacement is an ongoing crime against humanity. Criminal behaviour in Gaza is inseparable from the daily crimes committed by the occupation in the occupied West Bank,” the group said.

Ismail Thawabteh, director of Gaza’s government media office, told Anadolu that Israel’s promise of tents for civilians was “a blatant attempt to whitewash the crime of mass forced displacement it has been committing since the start of the genocide in Gaza.”

He warned that the designated area for tents could become “a new blood trap,” similar to what happened in al-Mawasi, Rafah, and Khan Younis, where more than 1.5 million people were driven over the past months.

On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir approved what he called the “central idea” of Israel’s reoccupation plan, which includes an attack on the Zeitoun district in southern Gaza City where the army’s 99th Division has been deployed.

The Israeli Security Cabinet had already endorsed Netanyahu’s plan to fully reoccupy Gaza, sparking international condemnation and domestic protests that warned it amounted to a “death sentence” for Israeli hostages.

The operation is set to begin with the takeover of Gaza City and the evacuation of nearly one million residents to the south, followed by a siege and raids on several neighborhoods. A second phase will target refugee camps in central Gaza, many of which have already been reduced to rubble.

The ruling, issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I on Wednesday, reaffirms the court’s jurisdiction and signals a significant legal setback for the Israeli leadership.

Israel had submitted a dual request to the ICC on May 9, 2025, according to the Anadolu Agency. The first sought the withdrawal, cancellation, or invalidation of the arrest warrants, while the second called for the suspension of the prosecutor’s investigation into the situation in Palestine. Both requests were unequivocally dismissed.

Central to Israel’s argument was the contention that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories. However, the court’s judges, in their decision, explicitly rejected this argument, reiterating previous rulings that establish its jurisdiction.

They further clarified that an Appeals Chamber decision from April 24, 2025, could not be interpreted as undermining the court’s authority in this regard, Anadolu reported.

The ICC’s assertion of jurisdiction over Palestine dates back to a February 5, 2021, ruling, which declared Palestine a State Party to the Rome Statute. This decision extended the court’s jurisdiction to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, territories that have been under Israeli occupation since 1967. The formal investigation by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor into the situation in Palestine commenced on March 3, 2021.

The arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were originally issued on November 21, 2024, citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. A warrant for a Hamas leader, Ibrahim al-Masri (also known as Mohammed Deif), was also issued at that time but was later withdrawn in February following credible reports of his death, as reported by Reuters.

Israel has consistently rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies any war crimes in Gaza, claiming that its military campaign is aimed at eliminating the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The Israeli genocide, however, has killed and wounded nearly 200,000 people, mostly civilians. Over 14,000 people remain missing.

Israeli forces raided the town of Shuqb, west of Ramallah, and razed six homes, a shed, and retaining walls, citing the lack of a building permit, village chief Adnan Shalash told Anadolu.

He said the demolished structures included a three-story house that had stood for 15 years, calling the demolitions “a tragedy for the local community.”

In Rujeib, east of Nablus in the northern West Bank, Israeli forces demolished a two-story house for the alleged lack of a construction permit, witnesses said.

According to Palestinian figures, Israeli authorities demolished 588 Palestinian structures in the first half of this year, affecting 843 people, including 411 children.

Israel widely uses the pretext of a lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, especially in Area C in the occupied West Bank, which constitutes around 60% of its space.

Area C is under Israel’s administrative and security control until a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians.