Israel working on ‘pilot plan’ to transfer administration of Gaza neighborhoods to local civilians: Report

JERUSALEM

Israel is preparing to launch a “pilot plan” in which Palestinian civilians will take over the administration of different neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip, instead of Hamas, Israeli media claimed on Thursday.

"The Israeli army has begun clearing the Zaytoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza City of ‘militants’ so that Israel can implement a pilot plan in which civilians from Gaza will manage the neighborhood instead of Hamas," Channel 12 reported, without citing any sources for this plan from Tel Aviv.

“Israel's goal is to empower these local parties to receive humanitarian aid and distribute it to the population to create an alternative to Hamas in northern Gaza,” the broadcaster claimed.

However, the challenge is how to secure different areas while preventing Hamas from intervening, according to the channel.

Channel 12 did not explain how Israel would persuade Palestinians to cooperate with the plan, especially after the atrocities committed against over a million Gaza residents during its more than four-month-long war.

Tel Aviv claims that the war on Gaza aims to “end Hamas' rule,” eliminate its fighting capabilities, and secure the release of Israeli hostages. Internal Israeli assessments, however, indicate that none of these objectives can be achieved.

There has been no comment from Hamas regarding the latest Israeli media report as of 1555GMT.

Israel forcibly relocated hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, claiming it as "safe zones."

In this regard, Channel 12 mentioned that “residents of the northern Gaza Strip who fled their homes in recent months to the south have not been able to return yet, and the pilot plan will be implemented on the remaining population in the north.”

It added, “As part of the pilot plan, Israel emphasizes the need for a complete change in the content of textbooks taught in schools in the Gaza Strip, which incite hatred against Israel and Jews.”

Days ago, the Israeli army launched a wide-scale military action in the Zaytoun neighborhood as part of pilot plan preparation, according to the Israeli channel.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, killing at least 29,410 Palestinians and injuring nearly 70,000 others, while less than 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

For the first time since its creation in 1948, Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, over its Gaza war.

An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala