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Israeli security officials have confirmed to The Economist that the plan is to empty permanently the Rafah area, in southern Gaza, and which represents around 20% of the entire territory. A similar operation is under way in a smaller area in the strip’s north.

These moves are part of a wider plan to force over 2m Gazans out of the cities and towns and to the coast. In the short run, this is to create “kill zones” in which, in theory, only Hamas fighters will remain. In the longer term, Israel hopes that Gazans will “voluntarily” emigrate.

The new route may have another purpose, say some Israeli officers. A month ago Israel cut off aid to Gaza. It claims there is plenty of food in the strip and that Hamas controls it. Once Gaza’s civilians are concentrated on the coast, the Israelis intend to use the Morag route for supply convoys “bypassing Hamas”.

This would be a big change in Israeli policy. Until recently the idf refused to take responsibility for Gaza’s humanitarian needs, preferring to co-ordinate aid convoys with international organisations. In private the generals said they wanted to avoid a de facto reoccupation of Gaza. Now, under pressure from politicians who want to control supplies to Gaza as a prelude to establishing long-term Israeli authority, they have relented. Under the new plans the idf will distribute supplies directly to civilians sheltering on the coast. In the rest of Gaza they will carry out a scorched-earth policy aimed at finally eradicating Hamas.

It is unclear when this stage will begin. Meanwhile, supplies are again running short. The UN’s World Food Programme has closed 25 bakeries that produced pita bread, as it can no longer supply them with fuel or flour. Nor can families bake their own bread: a kilogram of cooking gas now costs at least 250 shekels ($66), and a bag of flour weighing 25kg is almost twice that. Staples like sugar and cooking oil are disappearing from markets.

Water is scarce, too. Output from the main desalination plant in southern Gaza has dropped by 85% since Israel stopped supplying it with electricity last month. Most Gazans have access to just six litres of clean water a day, according to the un.

Hunger is not the only threat to life. Last month Israeli troops killed 15 Palestinian medics near Rafah. The idf claimed that their convoy was driving suspiciously, without lights or sirens. A video obtained by the New York Times showed that the army’s story was bogus: the ambulances had their lights and emergency signals on. The uniformed medics were cut down in a hail of gunfire.

All this has fuelled rare protests against Hamas in Gaza over the past few weeks. Some drew thousands of people. It allowed the demonstrations to happen but subsequently tortured and killed several critics.

Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza first with air strikes, on March 18th. Its ground operations since then have killed over a thousand people. Hamas, fearing more protests, has indicated it is prepared to accept another temporary truce lasting a few weeks, during which it would exchange a small number of the 59 Israeli hostages still in Gaza (most of them assumed dead) for the release of Palestinian prisoners. But even if that happens, Israel intends to resume its war.

The outlook is bleak. “There are currently no plans being seriously discussed for the day after the war in Gaza,” says a diplomat previously active in such talks. The only chink of light came in a meeting between President Donald Trump and Mr Netanyahu on April 7th. “I’d like to see the war [in Gaza] stop,” said Mr Trump. “I think the war will stop at some point, that won’t be in the too distant future.”

Mr Trump’s team forced the first stage of the ceasefire on Israel. But the president now seems preoccupied by other matters. Without pressure from him, it is hard to see anything else that could prevent Israel’s final destruction of Gaza.