Israeli forces have continued their deadly operations across the Gaza Strip, with at least three Palestinians killed and several others wounded in the latest attacks. An Israeli drone strike on Thursday in the Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City killed one person and injured several others, medical sources told Al Jazeera reporters on the ground.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that the Israeli drone fired at least two missiles at a group of civilians in the neighborhood. In a separate incident, two Palestinians were killed and others injured in the northern town of Beit Lahia when Israeli forces opened fire on a group of people, according to Wafa.
Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Khaled reported that one of the victims in Beit Lahia was a 13-year-old child, while the other was an adult who sustained serious injuries and died after being transferred to a medical point. The Israeli military claimed that its forces had identified two “terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line” in northern Gaza, who were then “eliminated in order to remove the threat they posed.” The so-called Yellow Line is a buffer zone within Gaza established as part of the “ceasefire.”
These ongoing attacks come despite a US-brokered “ceasefire” that took effect in October. Although major fighting has halted, deadly Israeli strikes have continued, undermining the fragile truce. Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir revealed on Thursday a plan for the removal of roughly two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip within seven years.
According to his office, the plan aims to establish a dedicated ministry and secure agreements with countries to take in people from Gaza. The initiative foresees the departure of 250,000 people in the first year, some 1.1 million within three years, and around 1.9 million within seven years, the far-right minister stated. Ben-Gvir described the plan as “realistic” and sought to “encourage the emigration of Gaza’s inhabitants” as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted on Wednesday that Israel is still working to remove Palestinians from Gaza. Forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Israeli attacks have already internally displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population since the start of the genocidal war in October 2023. The offensive has claimed at least 73,470 lives in Gaza, with more than 1,330 killed since the ceasefire began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Source: www.aljazeera.com