Israel had ‘zero’ national evacuation plans after Gaza war outbreak, state comptroller finds

JERUSALEM

The Israeli government had “zero national evacuation plans” following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said in a report on Tuesday.

“The state must rectify the shortcomings in the treatment of the evacuees and prepare for the evacuation of tens of thousands in light of the current security situation,” Englman said in his report amid current rising tensions with Iran.

“We found a grim picture of a systemic disorder to prepare for absorbing residents in emergency situations,” went on the comptroller.

The report found that the Israeli government and army entered the Gaza war in October 2023 without an approved national operational plan for evacuating thousands of residents in frontline communities.

Englman said the government and army were forced to relocate more than 200,000 Israelis in the country’s north and south during the conflict through an ad hoc system that left local authorities under fire.

The report found that longstanding disputes between the defense and interior ministries over responsibility for evacuation planning remained unresolved at the political level, including after Englman personally raised the issue with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 8, 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 171,000 others.

The conflict spilled over to Lebanon, Yemen and Iran before a US-backed ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Oct. 2023, halting Israel’s two-year war on the enclave.

The state comptroller’s report comes amid concerns of a potential US attack on Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala