Israel outlines plans to pack entire Gaza population into closed border zone
Israel's defense minister has outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt that Palestinians would not be allowed to leave once entering, according to local media reports.
It appears to be the latest version of plans by the Israeli government to maintain lasting control over the territory and relocate much of its population of about 2 million people.
Critics say that would amount to forcible displacement, which would be a violation of international law, because Israel's military actions and blockade have made Gaza largely uninhabitable.
Israeli officials say the aim is to separate the civilian population from Hamas, which still controls parts of Gaza and holds dozens of hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war 21 months ago. Palestinians would then be given the option of emigrating, they say.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he is narrowing in on a ceasefire and hopes to eventually end the war, has also voiced support for the mass removal of Palestinians from Gaza, which is some of the only Palestinian territory remaining after years of Israeli land takeovers.
A ‘humanitarian city’ atop the ruins of Rafah
Defense Minister Israel Katz outlined the latest plans in a closed briefing with Israeli military reporters on Monday. His office did not respond to a request for comment on their reports, which appeared in several Israeli media outlets.
Katz reportedly said he had ordered Israel’s military to draw up plans to build what he called a “humanitarian city” in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, which has been heavily damaged in the war and is now largely uninhabited as a result.
Katz reportedly said that Palestinians would not be able to leave once they enter the zone.
The military would initially "move" 600,000 Palestinians from an existing so-called humanitarian zone along the coast, with the aim of eventually transferring the whole population to Rafah. Katz said Israel was searching for an unspecified international body to deliver aid as Israeli troops secured the perimeter.
He said the military could start building the "city" during a 60-day ceasefire that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are discussing in Washington this week.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Palestinians view Gaza as an integral part of their national homeland and oppose any plans to uproot them.
Rights groups see preparations for mass expulsion
Both Trump and Netanyahu have said Gaza's population should be relocated to other countries through what they refer to as voluntary emigration. During their meeting on Monday at the White House, Netanyahu said Palestinians should have a “free choice” on whether to stay or leave.
Palestinians fear that even if they leave temporarily to escape the war, Israel will never allow them to return — a repeat of the mass exodus that occurred before and during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. That year, between 750,000 and 1 million Palestinians fled following attacks by militias and the new Israeli army that killed many and destroyed towns to prevent Palestinians from returning.
Katz expressed hope that the “emigration plan” would happen and said Netanyahu was already leading efforts to find countries willing to take in Palestinians, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
Rights groups fear that concentrating the population along the border with Egypt would create catastrophic conditions that leave Palestinians no choice but to leave.
“Forcing people into what amounts to a large concentration camp echoes dark chapters of history," said Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli group advocating Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement.
"Israel’s leadership hasn’t been shy about the goal to expel Palestinians from Gaza and maintain permanent control over wide swaths of the territory,” she said.
US and Israeli-backed aid system is already in place
Israel and the United States have already rolled out an aid distribution program in Rafah that has been marred by violence and controversy.
Over 600 Palestinians have been killed or wounded while trying to reach sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a contractor supported by Israel and the U.S., according to local hospitals.
Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire toward crowds of people heading to the sites. The military says it has fired warning shots at people who approached its forces in what it describes as a suspicious manner.
Hundreds of international rights organizations and NGOs have condemned the system and called for it to close, saying it forces Palestinians to travel long distances and pack into tight, militarized zones to receive aid.
GHF denies there has been any violence in or around the sites themselves, which are in military zones that Israel prevents independent media from entering.
Two U.S. contractors told The Associated Press that their colleagues used as crowds scrambled for food, allegations denied by the foundation. GHF has also denied involvement in any population transfer plans.
But in a press conference in May, Netanyahu appeared to link the two initiatives, saying Israel would implement the new aid program and then create a “sterile zone” in southern Gaza, free of Hamas, where the Palestinian population would be relocated.
Netanyahu has said Israel will maintain lasting control over Gaza and has ruled out any role for the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which is led by political rivals of Hamas.
