Israel committing 'war crimes' - former defense minister | 2 Dec 2024 | Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of plotting the “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza and claimed that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops are carrying out "war crimes" in the Palestinian enclave. Israel has launched an unprecedented wave of military destruction, citing a war on Hamas, in Gaza for over a year. The onslaught has killed almost 45,000 people, created famine conditions, and displaced nearly all of the residents of the densely populated territory. In recent weeks, Israel has focused much of its firepower on northern Gaza, having issued an evacuation order covering large swathes of the region last weekend. This evacuation order, Yaalon claimed on Sunday, is an attempt to hide the ongoing "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians. "I am compelled to warn about what is happening there and is being concealed from us," he told Israel's Kan broadcaster. "At the end of the day, war crimes are being committed," he added, citing information supposedly provided by IDF commanders in Gaza.