Benjamin Netanyahu mulls plan to empty northern Gaza of civilians, cut off aid to those left inside
Jerusalem, Oct 13: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is examining a plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out Hamas group, a plan that, if implemented, could trap without food or water hundreds of thousands of Palestinians unwilling or unable to leave their homes.
Israel has issued many evacuation orders for the north throughout the yearlong war, the most recent of which was Sunday. The plan proposed to Netanyahu and the Israeli parliament by a group of retired generals would escalate the pressure, giving Palestinians a week to leave the northern third of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, before declaring it a closed military zone.
Those who remain would be considered combatants — meaning military regulations would allow troops to kill them — and denied food, water, medicine and fuel, according to a copy of the plan given to the Associated Press by its chief architect, who says the plan is the only way to break Hamas in the north and pressure it to release the remaining hostages.
The plan calls for Israel to maintain control over the north for an indefinite period to attempt to create a new administration without Hamas, splitting the Gaza Strip in two.
There has been no decision by the government to fully carry out the so-called “Generals' Plan”, and it is unclear how strongly it is being considered.
One official with knowledge of the matter said parts of the plan are already being implemented, without specifying which parts. A second official, who is Israeli, said Netanyahu “had read and studied” the plan, “like many plans that have reached him throughout the war”, but did not say whether any of it had been adopted. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan is not supposed to be discussed publicly.
On Sunday, Israel launched an offensive against Hamas fighters in the Jabaliya refugee camp north of the city. No trucks of food, water or medicine have entered the north since September 30, according to the UN and the website of the Israeli military agency overseeing humanitarian aid crossings.
The State Department spokesperson has said the United States is against any plan that would bring direct Israeli occupation in Gaza.
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Drugs with Rs 5000 crore recovered in Gujarat
New Delhi, Oct 13: In a joint operation, Delhi Police and Gujarat Police on Sunday seized 518 kilograms of cocaine worth Rs 5,000 crore in Gujarat's Ankleshwar.
With this, 1,289 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic Thailand marijuana worth Rs 13,000 crore have been seized by the law enforcement agencies within a fortnight in Delhi and Gujarat, sources said.
Delhi Police's Special Cell and Gujarat Police on Sunday claimed to have recovered 518 kilograms cocaine during a search conducted at a pharmaceutical company in Ankleshwar.
Value of the seized cocaine in the international market is said to be around Rs 5,000 crore, sources said.
On October 1, the Special Cell raided a warehouse in Delhi's Mahipalpur and seized a consignment of 562 kilograms cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana.
During the course of investigation, on October 10, about 208 kilograms of additional cocaine was recovered from a shop in Ramesh Nagar in Delhi. Police found that the drugs belonged to a company which had received them from the Ankleshwar-based pharmaceutical firm, the sources said.
Under the leadership of Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, law enforcement agencies are taking forward this policy of zero tolerance against drugs and Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (Operation of Drugs Free India), they said.
