In the first week of the war, the IDF instructed residents of northern Gaza to evacuate their homes and move south. Images of Palestinian convoys trudging along the coast and Salah al-Din Road with their belongings were broadcast worldwide, earning headlines in Palestinian media as a "second Nakba." However, the IDF was satisfied, the population evacuation operation, a critical first step toward launching a large-scale ground maneuver, appeared successful.
In the following months, densely populated areas like Rafah and Khan Younis were almost entirely emptied of residents through deliberate efforts, enabling IDF divisions to maneuver more easily while reducing risks to both combatants and civilians. However, this practice has raised moral and legal challenges.
Now, as the anticipated takeover of Gaza City approaches, Southern Command faces its next challenge. In the coming days, one of the largest population relocation operations of the war is expected to begin, as a prelude to the ground incursion into Gaza City. Approximately one million people will be required to evacuate the city and move south beyond the Netzarim Corridor, which will serve as the boundary north of which combat will take place.
A message delivered by artillery
The complex evacuation operation is managed by Southern Command's Population Relocation Unit, whose existence is revealed here for the first time. The unit is responsible for mapping the population, gathering intelligence on it, and coordinating actions to facilitate its movement – distributing leaflets, sending text messages, and, ultimately, firing artillery shells, which send the clearest message to residents that they must evacuate.
"In the current war, the unit was already prepared for micro-level management of the operation," said Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Weiner, who served during the war as the commander of the operational planning team in Southern Command. "This includes the process of notifications, who issues them, when, and how, as well as monitoring and verifying that there is a response on the other side and that the population is actually moving," Weiner said.
According to UN data, about 82% of Gaza's residents lived before the war in areas the IDF designated as "evacuation zones." Providing aid to these millions of displaced people is an integral part of the population relocation principle. "To convince them to move, you need to use not only a stick but also a carrot," a former military source said.
Until now, Israel has insisted that the "carrot" – humanitarian aid to Gaza – be provided and managed by the UN and international organizations, such as the American GHF foundation. However, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has been working in recent days to support the humanitarian infrastructure designed to absorb the hundreds of thousands of new evacuees from Gaza. "You cannot relocate people without ensuring that the humanitarian infrastructure – food, water, medical care, sanitation – meets the requirements of international law," a knowledgeable source said.
By late July, COGAT, under the guidance of the cabinet, approved an Emirati initiative to connect a water pipeline from a desalination plant in Egypt to the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi. This week, Israel also approved, for the first time since the March 2025 ceasefire, the entry of tents and shelter equipment into Gaza. "You can't start moving a population and then say, 'Oops, there aren't enough tents,'" the same source said. "That's why Israel is already preparing the infrastructure for the evacuation."
The full article will appear in the weekend edition.
