"It's an order—destroy the neighborhood so Arabs can't return"

Israel's destruction of Gaza’s schools.

“Rovait TZABAR are here to take revenge”. Photo posted by a soldier from the Tzabar battalion, Instagram, July 23, 2024. Obtained by Younis Tirawi.

“You just need to destroy the neighborhood, so that they can’t come back there. Why to destroy? That’s the mission; that’s what I carry out.”

Those are the words of an Israeli sergeant from the 432 Tzabar Battalion of the Givati Brigade who spoke to Drop Site News on condition of anonymity due to Israeli military policy. Givati was one of the brigades involved in implementing the General’s Plan—a policy devised by former General Giora Eiland that used the lack of access to water, food, and medicine as a weapon of war to force the besieged Palestinians in the north of Gaza to starve or surrender.

During the execution of the General’s Plan from October 2024 to January 2025, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes in north Gaza—with many being forced into makeshift shelters at various places, including schools. The Givati Brigade, in which this sergeant serves, was one of the first brigades of the Israeli military to enter Gaza at the start of their genocidal assault. Over the past twenty months, they have taken part in effectively wiping the towns of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, Jabaliya, and Rafah off the map.