Zack Beauchamp writes:

Israel’s war in Gaza, which has long been a moral atrocity, is on the brink of becoming unimaginably worse.

Earlier this month, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “the concluding moves” of the war in Gaza. Called “Gideon’s Chariots,” the operation’s plan calls for the mass destruction of remaining buildings in Gaza and the “conquest” of much of the Strip by Israel.

The more than 2 million Palestinian civilians would be given a choice: Live indefinitely in a tiny “humanitarian area,” or else leave the Strip for some third country. At least one high-level Israeli official, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has openly proclaimed that the purpose of this policy is to inflict so much suffering that Palestinians are effectively forced to make the latter choice — a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

“Within a few months…Gaza will be totally destroyed,” Smotrich said on May 6. Civilians “will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.”

The situation in Gaza is already beyond dire: An Israeli blockade on foreign aid has left children starving. Were Israel to do what Smotrich is describing, the consequences would be untold death and suffering.

“[My organization] has not used the term genocide before. We do now,” says Matt Duss, the executive vice president at the Center for International Policy think tank.

Since the start of the war, the US has done too little to change the dynamic on the ground. The Trump administration has demonstrated no interest in helping Palestinians and has (per Axios’ Barak Ravid) “effectively given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a green light to do as he sees fit.” Trump himself has suggested removing the Palestinian population from Gaza and sending them to nearby Arab states.

There is still time to change the war’s course. Israel has its own reasons for not going through with this kind of maximalist assault, and Trump has previously demonstrated a willingness to push Israel toward a ceasefire if the politics favor it.

But Israel’s plans are unfolding during a moment when many in the United States have stopped paying attention to the carnage in Gaza — perhaps fatigued by the war’s endless horrors, perhaps distracted by the dire political situation at home.

This, however, is the worst possible time to look away. What Israel is promising is not yet another round of fighting, but a criminal escalation of a morally abhorrent war. [Continue reading…]