The Israeli army dropped leaflets all over Gaza overnight on Wednesday, issuing menacing messages such as the “world map won’t change if all the people of Gaza were to vanish”, in a new genocidal threat to totally annihilate the enclave.
The threatening flyers, which included verses from the Quran, threatened Gazans with forced displacement “whether they like it or not” as a consequence of “what happened and the end of the temporary ceasefire”.
The army also vowed that US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory will “proceed” and Gaza would be ethnically cleansed of its native population. Over 700 people have been killed in three days of Israeli bombing.
“No one will notice you, no one will ask about you. You are left alone to face your inevitable fate,” the leaflets read.
“Neither the US nor Europe care about Gaza. Even your Arab states don’t care, they are now our allies, they provide us with money, weapons and oil. They only send you shrouds.”
The message offered Palestinians “financial aid” in exchange for cooperation with the Israeli army. “We will not hesitate for a moment to help,” the military claimed, in a message similar to previous ones dropped on Gaza warning Palestinians to flee the enclave.
“There isn’t much time left. The game will end soon. Whoever wants to save themselves before it’s too late, we are here to stay until Judgment Day,” the leaflet added.
The New Arab’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip confirmed that the flyers were dropped in Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and eastern parts of Khan Younis.
These ‘death notes’ have been a frequent tactic by the Israeli army in Gaza and the West Bank to instill fear among Palestinians amid military operations and pressure them to flee their homes.
It comes as Israel renewed its ground operations in the devastated enclave to “expand the security perimeter and create a partial buffer between the north and south”.
Defence Minister Israel Katz also gave a “last warning” to Gazans via a video statement, telling them to “return the hostages and remove Hamas from power”, so that other options “will open up, including the possibility of leaving for other places in the world for those who want to”.
This was a reference to Trump’s proposal for Gaza, which seeks to ethnically cleanse Gaza to make way for a US ‘takeover’ of the enclave that would see it transformed into a holiday resort.
The move was condemned and ridiculed globally, especially by Palestinians. Trump said Palestinians “should want to leave” the territory voluntarily due to the massive destruction it has suffered, but later appeared to backtrack on parts of the ethnic cleansing plan in a press conference.
Early on Tuesday, the Israeli army launched a shock attack on several parts of the Gaza Strip – including Nuseirat, Rafah, parts of Gaza City and Khan Younis – with no prior warning, killing over 400 Palestinians and effectively ending the fragile ceasefire in the territory.
The attacks continued on Wednesday with the death toll climbing to over 700, according to the enclave’s health ministry. At least 71 were killed in pre-dawn attacks on Thursday.
The attacks are some of the deadliest in Gaza since the start of Israel’s military onslaught on 7 October, 2023. Over half of the victims have been women and children, with several families entirely wiped out from Gaza’s civil registry.
The renewed attacks were condemned globally, with EU leaders describing them as being of “great concern” and a “dramatic step backwards”.
The ceasefire which took since 19 January, expired on 1 March, triggering huge fears in Gaza where at least 62,000 Palestinians have already been killed since 7 October 2023.
Israel has continuously refused to move onto the second phase of the truce and instead sought to extend the now shattered ceasefire by 60 days – something rejected by Hamas.
Hamas said on Thursday it “was in talks with mediators” to halt Israel’s renewed onslaught on Gaza.
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