A leaked military proposal reveals Israel's intention to move Gazans into three controlled strips of land separated by military-occupied zones if current ceasefire negotiations with Hamas collapse in the coming days.
The map, which was shown to foreign diplomats and obtained by The Sunday Times, outlines how Israeli forces would establish exclusive military zones in the northern, central, and southern parts of Gaza, with civilian areas restricted to the spaces between these zones.
According to the plan shared with diplomats, Palestinians would be prohibited from traveling between these civilian sections without explicit permission. Security protocols would include photo identification or bar codes for goods moving between zones.
On its X account, the IDF stated the operation would continue "until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home." The military has ordered mass evacuations, pushing civilians into southern areas north of Rafah, a city near the Egyptian border that previously sheltered displaced Palestinians. Parts of Rafah have already been surrounded and designated for military use.
The plan includes the creation of a new military corridor connecting southern and central Gaza. Sources informed The Sunday Times that this corridor appears slightly narrower than the existing Netzarim corridor, which spans approximately 2.5 miles. These sources indicated that military bulldozers would completely flatten this entire corridor in the coming weeks, constructing military infrastructure to separate civilian sections north of Rafah and south of Netzarim.
Additionally, the leaked map shows an expansion of the northern military zone above Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun to accommodate roads and staging areas for the army. A substantial perimeter surrounds the entire strip, representing an enlarged buffer zone between Israel and Gaza. Clearing these new army zones in central Gaza and expanding the military zone in the north is expected to take at least three weeks.
The map also indicates approximately 12 locations within civilian zones designated for humanitarian aid distribution. These sites align with an Israeli plan, endorsed by the United States, to privatize aid distribution through companies overseen by Israeli forces. This approach mirrors the partial privatization of security checkpoints around the West Bank and Jerusalem that control movement of people and goods.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated earlier this month that a new "intensified" offensive in Gaza would occur if ceasefire negotiations in Doha failed to produce results. Israel indicated it would wait until President Trump completed his Middle East tour, which concluded Friday. A Hamas official, Taher al-Nono, told Reuters on Saturday that a new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is currently in progress in Doha without "pre-conditions," according to The Sunday Times.
