 "People walk amidst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, February 24, 2025. File Image/AP")
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the military to chart out plans for building a “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza, which will eventually house the entire population of the region.
According to Israeli media reports, the zone would initially house nearly 600,000 displaced Palestinians who were forced to flee to the Al-Mawasi area along the coast of southern Gaza. A screening will be done to ascertain that no one entering the humanitarian city is a member of Hamas.
The plan has been endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other politicians, despite observers and rights activists around the world opposing the mass displacement plans.
During his dinner at the White House earlier this week, Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump , “We’re working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realize what they always said, that they want to give the Palestinians a better future, and I think we’re getting close to finding several countries.”
No IDF, 2m Palestinians in Rafah
Katz said that once Palestinians are settled in the humanitarian city, they will not be allowed to leave the region, which will gradually be home to over 2 million people. The defence minister has also vowed to work on plans, first floated by Trump, to help Gazans emigrate to other countries.
Israeli media report that Katz said the zone for displaced Palestinians would be managed by international organisations, not the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). According to Katz, the IDF would secure the area from a distance. The plan appears to mirror the aid distribution model used by the US- and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIsrael’s plan opposed
The plans to move the entire population of Gaza to one zone have been met with resistance and criticised across the world. “I’m surprised at the statements that I’ve seen from Mr. Katz over the last 24 hours. They run contrary to the proximity to a ceasefire that I thought we were heading towards,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
Meanwhile, Hamas said in a statement that Israel’s “persistent efforts to forcibly displace our people and impose ethnic cleansing have met with legendary resilience. Our people have stood firm in the face of killing, hunger, and bombardment, rejecting any future dictated from intelligence headquarters or political bargaining tables.”