Israel orders medics to prepare for displacing Palestinians from Gaza City

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

The Israeli army said Thursday it began making “initial warning calls” to medical institutions and international organizations in northern Gaza to prepare for the evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza City to the south, as part of a plan to reoccupy the city.

A military statement said warning calls were made two days ago to medical officials and international organizations in northern Gaza “to prepare for the evacuation of the population to the territory’s south.”

The military released an audio recording of a call between an Israeli officer and an unnamed Palestinian health official in Gaza City.

“I am contacting you regarding the possibility of the army entering Gaza City, there will be a full evacuation from Gaza to the south,” the officer is heard saying.

He asked the health official to prepare a plan to transfer medical equipment from northern Gaza to the south, “in order to provide treatment for all patients in southern Gaza and prepare hospitals to receive the patients coming from the north.”

On Wednesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz approved the army’s plan to occupy Gaza City under an operation codenamed “Gideon’s Chariots 2.” The plan was scheduled to be discussed Thursday in a security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli plan calls for displacing Palestinians from Gaza City, imposing a siege, and conducting ground and air assaults, according to an army spokesperson.

Also Wednesday, the army began sending call-up orders to 60,000 reservists ahead of implementing the plan, Israel’s public broadcaster reported.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal assault on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing nearly 62,200 people and injuring more than 156,700 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.