Israel’s Invasion of Northern Gaza Aims to Forcibly Depopulate Area, Not Target Hamas, Israeli Experts Reveal

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Recent revelations from Israeli media suggest that the ongoing Israeli invasion of northern Gaza is less about targeting Hamas and more focused on depopulating the area. According to statements made by Eyal Ofer, an expert on “Hamas’s economy”, during an interview with Maariv, the primary objective of the renewed ground brutal attack is to forcibly evacuate the remaining civilian population from northern Gaza, rather than dismantle Hamas’s military infrastructure.

Ofer explained, “This is the critical moment of the war. The most important action is the evacuation of the remaining population from northern Gaza.” He stressed that the true measure of victory in this conflict would not be the destruction of tunnels, Hamas battalions, or even the killing of resistance fighters. “Victory means hundreds of thousands of civilians, including Hamas operatives, leaving the city of Gaza,” he added.

This strategy seems to align with reports from Israeli sources that the goal of the invasion is to starve, terrorize, and bomb civilians into leaving the northern part of the Gaza Strip, pushing them southward.

Ofer criticized earlier Israeli approaches, which he referred to as “day-after fantasies” that aimed to use the population in northern Gaza as a base for future governance. He noted that this population is among the strongest supporters of Hamas, yet the Israeli army had initially hoped to leverage them for post-war control. However, Ofer now believes that the key to victory lies in fully evacuating this population.

Once the Israeli army successfully clears the northern Gaza Strip, Ofer argues, Israel will gain a ‘critical advantage’ in its broader military goals, including potentially leveraging the evacuation to facilitate negotiations for the return of Israeli prisoners.