Israel says it is preparing to move Palestinians from combat zones to southern Gaza as plans move ahead for a military offensive in some of the territory’s most populated areas.

The plan would envisage people moving from an enclave shattered by almost two years of war with Israel to a nation in the heart of Africa riven by political and ethnically-driven violence.

Brenda Elizondo is an audience engagement fellow at the Los Angeles Times. She was previously a video content creator and reporter for L.A. Times Food and De Los, the Latinidad section. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton.

In leaked audio recordings, the former head of Israeli military intelligence can be heard saying that the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza is “necessary and required for future generations.

More and more Palestinians are calling on Hamas to step down and end the war with Israel that has devastated their home land, with the terror group allegedly executing its critics, according to