Israel plans to move Gaza population to single ‘humanitarian city’ – defense minister

Israel is preparing to establish a so-called “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian enclave’s entire population is to be moved, the country’s defense minister, Israel Katz, has announced. Critics of the initiative promptly branded the “city” an internment camp and warned of potentially widespread human rights abuse.

The “humanitarian city” is expected to initially accommodate some 600,000 Palestinians – primarily displaced persons living in the coastal Mawasi area to the northwest of Rafah, Katz told reporters on Monday. Eventually, all of the estimated 2.2 million Gazans will be placed into the “city,” which is to be secured by the Israeli military from a distance and run by unspecified international organizations, the minister stated.

The Palestinians will undergo screening before being placed into the “city” to ensure no Hamas operatives slip in, Katz noted. The scheme is ultimately designed to displace the entire Gaza population and encourage it to “voluntarily emigrate” from the enclave elsewhere, the minister admitted. Those who end up in the zone will not be allowed to return to other parts of Gaza, he added.

The defense ministry has already begun planning for the zone, according to Katz. However, the country’s authorities have made no public statements on the scheme or said whether it has actually been approved. It also remains unclear when the plan would be put into motion.

The proposed “humanitarian city” has been criticized by human rights advocates and activists, who have branded it an internal camp and warned of potential abuses. Michael Sfard, a leading Israeli human rights lawyer, called the proposed scheme “an operational plan for a crime against humanity.”

“While the government still calls the deportation ‘voluntary,’ people in Gaza are under so many coercive measures that no departure from the strip can be seen in legal terms as consensual,” Sfard told the Guardian.

The “humanitarian city” plan comes after Israel rejected Hamas’ proposed changes to a Gaza ceasefire deal. The Palestinian militant group reportedly wanted the agreement to ensure a permanent truce and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The conflict between Hamas and Israel began in October of 2023, when the group launched a surprise assault in the south of the country. The initial attack left some 1,200 people dead, with around 250 taken hostage. Some 50 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza. Fewer than half are believed to be alive. Over the past 21 months, Israel’s military response, which has involved heavy aerial and artillery bombardments, as well as ground operations in the Strip, has killed at least 57,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the local health ministry.