Israeli colonel reveals Gaza attack plan and says fight will be 'hell'

The Israeli army has drawn up military plans for the besieged Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian enclave could see territorial changes if Hamas puts up a prolonged resistance to an Israeli ground offensive, a serving Israeli colonel has told Middle East Eye.

Early on Friday, the Israeli military delivered sweeping evacuation orders to almost half of Gaza's 2.3 million people, telling 1.1 million Palestinians to immediately flee south.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN secretary general, told reporters that UN officials working in Gaza were told by the Israeli army "that the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours".

The colonel, speaking to MEE on condition of anonymity, said that the military had devised plans to encircle areas in the north while air strikes pummelled the rest of the enclave.

The Israeli colonel said the army had divided the enclave into several sectors and "determined [which] points and settlements [in the Strip] will be surrounded", adding that "special operations will be carried out at least 25 points in sub-sectors".

Read more: Colonel reveals Gaza attack plan and says fight will be 'hell'