This May, the Israel Zionist state announced Operation Gideon’s Chariots, a major military plan aimed at occupying the entire Gaza for a long time and the confinement of Palestinian civilians to a few “evacuation centers” in the southern part of the enclave. This campaign is under the direction of the US counterinsurgency doctrine of clear-hold-build.

In the context of Gaza, this means Israel’s further seizure of Palestinian territory and the intensification of unrelenting genocide. At present, Israeli troops already permanently occupy an estimated one-third of Gaza. The complete seizure of Gaza is being pushed under the pretext of “rescuing” individuals captured by Hamas during Operation Al Aqsa Flood in 2023.

Israel will reportedly begin a large-scale ground invasion of Gaza using tens of thousands of soldiers after US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East in the second week of May and if no new ceasefire agreement is reached. At present, Zionist troops are already “preparing” the “evacuation centers” in the southern part of Gaza to confine almost 1.5 million Palestinians. Israeli troops will have absolute control over these evacuation centers, including the entry of aid and food.

The United Nations and human rights organizations strongly condemned Operation Gideon’s Chariots. They said this would result in an unprecedented crisis and hunger. The forced transfer of Gaza civilian population to overcrowded evacuation centers is ethnic cleansing and collective punishment. Under international humanitarian law, the forced displacement of civilians during armed conflict constitutes a war crime, and systematic implementation of this is a crime against humanity.

Groups also condemned Israel for its blockade and restriction of the entry of food, aid, and medical supplies into Gaza, which has inflicted severe suffering to civilians. They opposed the Zionist plan to place the flow of aid under its military control up to the planned evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, six European countries opposed Israel’s plan. A joint statement by Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, and Slovenia, called it a “dangerous escalation.” They strongly opposed any prolonged Israeli presence in Gaza that obliterates the possibility of a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombings and attacks have directly killed 52,495 Palestinians and wounded 118,300. Nearly half of the victims are children and women. An estimated hundreds of thousands more have died due to hunger, disease, and lack of medical facilities. Many have also been buried under collapsed buildings and houses, never to be found or recovered due to Israel’s relentless attacks.

Meanwhile, hunger in Gaza have reached catastrophic levels, especially since March when Israel banned the entry of all commercial and humanitarian aid, food, medicine, and other basic needs. This absolute blockade has resulted in a further surge in malnutrition and deaths, according to humanitarian institutions.