Israeli attacks kill at least three in Gaza amid push for Palestinian removal

Israeli attacks have killed at least three people and injured several others across Gaza, as Israeli officials push a plan calling for the removal of Palestinians from the Strip.

An Israeli drone strike on Thursday in the Rimal neighbourhood 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 said the Israeli drone had fired at least two missiles at a group of civilians in the neighbourhood.

Separately, two Palestinians were killed and others were injured in the northern town of Beit Lahia when Israeli forces opened fire at a group of Palestinians, Wafa reported.

Nour Khaled, an Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza, said one of the two victims was a 13-year-old child and the other was an adult who was seriously injured in the attack and passed away after being transferred to a medical point.

The Israeli military meanwhile claimed that its forces had identified two “terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line” in northern Gaza, who they 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”.

The ongoing Israeli attacks come despite a United States-brokered “ceasefire” that came into effect in October.

Although major fighting halted in the strip after the agreement, deadly Israeli strikes have continued.

Israeli plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza

While Israeli attacks continue, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir revealed on Thursday a plan for the removal of the roughly two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip within seven years.

According to his office, Ben-Gvir’s plan aims to establish a dedicated ministry, as well as 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 said.

Ben-Gvir said the plan is “realistic” and sought to “encourage the emigration of Gaza’s inhabitants” as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel’s Defence 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 people since the start of the genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023.

Israel’s offensive has since claimed at least 73,470 lives in Gaza since then, with more than killed 1,330 since the ceasefire began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.